Choice is a Misconception
by Scorpia710
Summary: Scorpia doesn’t take well to MI6’s threats regarding Alex. In response, they attack anyone he's ever known. Including K Unit. Wolf will have to put aside any grudges he still holds to keep Alex alive. But keeping him alive will be harder then they know.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't write the Alex Rider books or make any money from writing this fanfiction.

It was three o'clock in the morning when the power went out on King's Road.

The street flickered off and the little light they had provided went with them. No one noticed. Later people would be told it was because of a car accident on an adjoining street. Only a few would know differently.

The inhabitants of the terraced houses that lay between the river and King's Road were deeply asleep. Even the one person who could have understood the danger was dead to the world.

Five minutes later, two fires started inside house number seven.

Just as planned.

From the road, a man watched. He saw tongues of flames lick at the downstairs windows.

The hired man nodded to himself and got into a sleek Porsche. He didn't really care if his victims died or not. He had his money and that was all that mattered. Swiftly, the silver car drove away without a sound. The man didn't look back.

His job was done here.

Inside number seven, Alex Rider sleepily kicked off his blankets. He felt so hot, even after the thick covers fell to the floor. He lay in bed; his sweat soaked clothes clinging to his body. In the back of his mind he knew something was wrong. There was no way it should be so hot. It was winter, for crying out loud.

_Maybe Jack turned the heater up too far, _Alex thought groggily as he stumbled out of bed and wiped the sweat from his head.

He glanced at the window next to his bed. In the back of his mind, he realized that the street lights weren't on. But he was too groggy to recognize this as important. Alex's hand jerked back from the door knob before he had touched it. The heat radiating from it was enough to tell Alex what was going on.

_Fire_, Alex thought with alarm.

_Oh God, _Alex thought with a swallow. The last time he had been in a fire he had barely survived, and this time he had more than himself to worry about. Alex didn't know if Jack was okay or not and it scared him.

The fire was right behind the door. He had to get out, and quickly. The fumes from the fire were snaking there way under the door and making it hard to breathe, and with hardly any oxygen, Alex was finding it hard to think straight.

He stumbled over to the window. After a great shove, it slowly creaked open.

Alex gasped in the cold winter air, using a few precious seconds to let it clear his head. The fire was blocking his bedroom door. It was too far down to jump. He'd have to climb down.

Ducking back inside, he grabbed his sheets. If it weren't for the pale moonlight, he wouldn't have been able to see them. He heard the flames crackle menacingly right outside his door.

Alex tied the white sheets into a big double knot around his bed post closest to the window. Quickly, he pushed the sheets out the window, he didn't think about the things he was jeopardizing as he awkwardly climbed out the window. Possessions could be replaced but his and Jack's lives could not. His only priority was to get help for Jack, and to do that he had to get himself out first.

His knees hit rough stone on the side of the house as Alex descended down his makeshift rope, and Alex heard a loud crash as his bedroom door fell in. Alex thoughts with riddled with panic.

The sheet wasn't long enough to reach the snow-covered ground, and Alex hung twelve feet above the ground.

He took a deep breath and let go.

The sensation of falling only lasted for a second before he hit the ground. The breath was knocked out of Alex and a sharp pain shot through his ankle.

Alex struggled to stand.

In fearful awe, Alex looked at his home. The bottom half was in flames. Smoke poured from his bedroom window and the sound of the sizzling flames was extremely loud. Snow melted rapidly around the burning building.

The kitchen window, a few feet in front of Alex exploded from the pressure and glass cut into his face and arms before he could protect himself.

_I have to help Jack_, Alex thought through the pain.

The roof of the neighboring house was starting to burn as Alex limped to the house.

He didn't run inside, instead he ran as fast as his leg would allow to the watering hose. The freezing water made Alex gasp as he quickly soaked himself and took his t-shirt off to wrap it around his mouth.

The gas from the fire was toxic, Alex recalled from a safety class he had once taken. That was why he had felt so groggy. Alex just hoped that his makeshift mask would protect him long enough to get Jack out of the house.

Alex shakily dragged the hose back to his burning house. The front door banged open as Alex threw his weight into it. Because of the bolt it took several more tries to get the door open. Alex dropped the still running hose in the doorway as he ran up the stairs. The water should keep his way out clear.

Flames surrounded Jack's bedroom. Alex held his breath before charging the door repeatedly. A few moments later it gave in to Alex's relief. There was no fire in the room, but the smoke was just as deadly and there was tons of it.

Alex ducked to the ground where the fumes weren't as heavy. He could see Jack's figure lying unconscious just next to her window.

_Don't be dead, Jack. Please don't be dead, _Alex thought in horror.

Alex lifted Jack's slight form into his arms. She was still breathing he noticed. More carefully, Alex made his way out. He was at the bottom of the stairs when they collapsed.

He managed to land on his side instead of his front, where Jack was cradled against his chest. Splinters of wood tore at Alex's flesh as he got off the floor, cradling Jack in his arms he escaped from the house and into fresh air.

He laid Jack far away from the burning house and checked her pulse. She was alive and took a gasp of clean air as Alex watched her with anxiety stretched across his filthy face.

"Jack?" Alex asked fearfully. She moved slightly and mumbled Alex's name.

Alex hoped that she would be fine by herself, he had to alert the neighbors.

Alex looked around.

Nobody came out from the neighboring houses, and most of the next door neighbors were in danger. Alex bit his lip. He had to get them out before they were trapped, and somebody needed to call the fire department.

Alex left Jack and ran to the neighbor's house which was in the most danger. The door to the neighbor's house was locked. Alex pulled his shoe off and threw it at the window. It broke with a crash and Alex continued to knock the remaining glass out of the window. Alex could now hear Mr. Grant's voice coming from the top floor.

Glass cut into his hands as Alex climbed through the window.

"Fire!" Alex yelled as he limped to the corded phone lying on a coffee table.

"Mr. Grant! Mr. Grant, there's a fire!" Nothing happened when Alex pressed the on button of the phone.

Dread climbed up Alex's back. Of course, there was no power, no way to alert the fire department.

"Alex? What…" Mr. Grant's voice trailed off as he caught site of Alex's filthy figure in the beam of his flashlight from the top of the stairs.

Alex dropped the phone and hurried up the stairs to the elderly man.

"The power's out and your house and mine are on fire and I need a cell phone," Alex explained as calmly as he could to the astonished man as he pulled him to the door.

Alex's pulse was racing and his head was pounding but he didn't want to scare the old man.

"Tom has a cell phone…" The man muttered almost to himself. After unlocking the front door and dragging the man out of the house, Alex ran to the next house.

Alex pounded on the door making his already bloody fists bleed anew.

"What is it?" Alex dodged past the angry man who opened the door in his bathrobe and grabbed the cell phone lying on the counter.

"What is the meaning of this? Get out of my house!" Tom Yanley screamed at Alex.

"Shut it!" Alex hissed at the man as his call was answered.

"Fire department, what is your situation?" said a calm female voice.

Tom listened as Alex explained his 'situation.' The anger on Tom's face quickly changed to fear as he listened.

After hanging up the cell Alex raced back outside without looking at Tom.

Mr. Grant had banged on each door along the street and people were coming out of there homes and alerting others to the danger.

Alex watched his home burn down with his neighbors. The neighbors were standing farther away from the burning building than Alex was. It was torture for Alex as he waited for the fire department to arrive. His legs were aching but he stubbornly stood. The house he had lived in for almost fourteen years was burning to the ground.

A soft hand touched Alex's arm.

Alex looked sideways at Jack who stood by his shoulder.

"How did this happen?" Jack asked tearfully as she looked upon the burning house. A neighbor had given her a pink bathrobe that clashed horribly with her red hair.

_I can't tell her now, _Alex thought. _She'd freak out._

He shook his head. He was positive of who had done it and why, but now wasn't the time to tell his thoughts to Jack.

_Scorpia never forgives. Scorpia never forgets, _He thought grimly.

Alex shivered and it wasn't because of the weather.

Jack moved like she was going to hug Alex but stopped herself. Alex was glad; he didn't want Jack to try and comfort him right now. Right now he wanted answers.

Sirens announced the fire departments arrival with two ambulances right behind them.

The paramedics exited the ambulance, took one look at Alex and Jack, and immediately ushered them to an ambulance.

Alex sat next to Jack. He was glad she was near him. He could have lost her; it had been a close shot. A gas mask was placed over his mouth.

"Lost a lot of blood--second degree burns--possible concussion--"

The snatches of conversation he heard were not very informative and he couldn't ask anything because of the mask but apparently Alex was in worse condition than he had thought.

One of the paramedics was removing splinters of wood from Alex's almost bare legs and he didn't seem to care that he was causing Alex a fair amount of pain. He pulled out a finger-sized piece of wood without warning, and Alex saw Jack angrily screaming at the paramedic before he passed out from pain.

It was two days later that Alex impatiently sat in the waiting room of the hospital. His arm and leg were bandaged, but you couldn't tell it because of his clothes.

The fire had left its mark. The doctor had said that it would take a while for the burns to heal and had given Alex a bottle of pain relievers. Alex carried those pain relievers in his pants pocket right now. He was fighting against taking one at the moment. Right now the pain was bearable but irritating. Alex looked at his watch. It was 2:35 in the afternoon. He sighed.

He wouldn't have been so impatient if he didn't know where he would be going after he left the hospital. But he did know and he just wanted to get it over with.

Earlier Jack had received a very unwelcome call. Alex remembered thinking, that it was too bad that Jack hadn't left her cell phone in the fire instead of in her car. Jack had sounded bitter when she told Alex that somebody from M16 was going to come and pick them up. The driver would then take them from the hospital to the M16 headquarters.

Right now, Jack was talking to the doctor that had treated Alex and herself. She was just far enough that Alex couldn't hear there conversation. He had a feeling that it was about him.

A hacking cough had overcome Alex during the first day of his stay in the hospital. He hadn't been able to breath because the cough was so bad. The doctors had reassured Jack when the coughing fit had subsided that it was because of the fumes.

But Jack had been very worried and Alex didn't think that her worry had totally diminished.

"Ok, we're ready to go!" Jack exclaimed a few minutes later. Her face was overly cheerful.

Alex knew she was trying to make the best out of their situation and he was both grateful and sad. He was grateful because if Jack could keep up a cheerful mask, he knew he could. But Alex was sad because he knew that Jack shouldn't of had to keep up a happy facade. She shouldn't have even been in that fire and she shouldn't have to worry about him getting killed every time he went off.

As Alex and Jack exited the hospital, a black car pulled up in front of them. Though the windows were tinted, Alex could see that the man in the front seat was wearing sunglasses. The man was obviously waiting for Alex and Jack to get in. Jack shrugged at Alex, opened the back door, and slid in.

Alex heaved a sigh before sliding in after her. Alex noticed immediately that the driver was alone. The man had short cropped brown hair, dark glasses and an expressionless face.

The interior of the car was gray leather. Alex followed Jack's example and buckled his seatbelt. The man said nothing as he drove down the streets. Alex glanced at Jack and she smiled at him, but it looked more like a grimace. Alex almost laughed.

The driver wasn't driving towards the Royal and General Bank, where the headquarters to M16 was hidden. Alex was starting to feel apprehensive about that fact, when the driver spoke for the first time.

"Mr. Blunt and others decided that because of recent events, the location of M16 headquarters had to be relocated." The man's voice was rough and Alex suspected that he didn't speak often.

The man didn't provide any more of an explanation and he was quiet for the rest of the ride. So the headquarters location had been moved, Alex thought. It was about time. Alex had been shot in front of that building once and now, months later, they were finally doing something.

The car turned up a crowded street and slowly drove to the end. Alex read the name on street sign. "Stonewood," it read.

The driver parked beside a two-story antique store at the end of the street and got out. Alex and Jack followed. The building was a far cry from the old headquarters, which had had more then sixteen stories.

The windows of the store were displaying old china, tattered books and other objects on old lace. There was one thing all the objects had in common: they were unreasonably pricey. People passing glanced in the windows momentarily before shaking there heads and walking swiftly away.

_Looks like an old lady's shop, _Alex thought.

The lettering on the store sign was painted gold with 'The Treasure Chest' in fancy print. It did _not _look like a M16 headquarters should. But maybe, Alex thought, that's what they wanted. The driver held the door open for Jack and Alex. They didn't have a choice but to enter.

There were more antiques on display tables inside and in the middle there was one small table where a blonde lady sat. Alex recognized her as the same receptionist at the old headquarters.

_Nothing's changed except the building, _Alex thought.

"Alex, Miss Starbright," she greeted them with a formal smile as they came closer. "They are waiting for you upstairs. It's the last door on the right."

The receptionist pointed out the way to a plain wooden staircase.

Jack was looking at everything and taking in every detail, but Alex kept his eyes straight ahead. He wanted this over.

Alex led the way down a small and empty hallway to the last door on the right. He knocked politely before opening the door.

Mr. Alan Blunt and Mrs. Tulip Jones sat beside each other behind a metal desk. Mrs. Jones was as always, sucking on a peppermint.

Papers were scattered across the cold surface of the table which was highly unusual. Mrs. Jones stood up and offered Alex and Jack seats without speaking.

Mr. Blunt looked grayer then usual, Alex thought as the man leaned forward.

"Do you know why you're here?" Mr. Blunt asked Alex in a no-nonsense voice.

Alex was surprised that Mrs. Jones wasn't asking the questions as she usually did, but he answered anyway.

"Scorpia," Alex said. He didn't need to say anything else. That one word was enough.

Mr. Blunt nodded, stood up and walked towards where the window in his old office used to be before changing his course to the smaller window at the other side of the room.

Mrs. Jones answered Alex. "We've found evidence that seems to suggest that it was Scorpia who started the fire and there have been--other incidents."

"Other incidents?" he pressed.

Mrs. Jones nodded hesitantly and opened another peppermint. She stared at Alex for a few seconds before looking away and popping the mint into her mouth.

Mrs. Jones sighed, "Earlier this week the K Unit was attacked."

"Are they okay?" Alex asked. He didn't like the men he had trained with, but he didn't want them dead, either.

"They got away with no serious harm. Scorpia is attacking anybody who had contact with you, the K--"

"Sabina?" Alex asked worriedly.

"Miss Pleasure is fine." Mrs. Blunt assured him. "We got to her before they did."

"Good," Alex said. "Now, why am I here?"

Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones exchanged quick glances.

"What?" Alex asked bad-temperedly.

"Scorpia is determined to be the cause of your death," Mrs. Blunt said slowly. "They didn't react to our threat like we had hoped."

Jack snorted in a very unladylike way and crossed her arms. Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones ignored her.

"They want revenge." Alex said quietly. It wasn't a question and Mrs. Jones nodded in agreement.

_Scorpia never forgives_, Alex thought again.

"Yes, we think that it would be safer for the both of you if you were separated." Alex's eyes narrowed and Mrs. Jones hurried on.

"Miss Starbright could go back to America and stay with her family…"

Alex looked at Jack and she didn't meet his eyes. Alex knew that she had wanted to see her parents.

"Where would Alex go?" Jack asked.

"We have a secluded house waiting for him on the other side of town," Mrs. Jones said assuredly.

"It would only be until we come to an agreement with Scorpia."

Alex and Jack looked at each other in silent conversation.

"We will of course pay for the plane tickets to and back from America," Mrs. Jones said as she rearranged the papers on the desk.

Jack sighed and said, "We don't really have anything else to do, do we?"

Mrs. Jones shook her head. "The fire destroyed everything you owned. But I have brought you some clothes that are your size and any other essentials you may need will be provided."

Jack perked up perceptibly, but Alex hung his head dejectedly.

Was he ever going to have his say in these things?

Two hours later Alex watched as a yellow cab drove away from headquarters.

_There's nobody on my side, now that Jack's gone_, Alex realized.

Jack waved at him from the back seat until she was out of site. She was going to the airport and Alex was going--well Alex wasn't sure where he was going.

Mrs. Jones explanation of, "The other side of town." hadn't been very explanatory. So in truth; he had no idea where he was going.

If Alex had known where and with whom he would be staying, he would have turned and ran.


	2. Chapter 2

A\N: Here is the second chapter hope you all enjoy and I'm sorry for the wait!

Alex was still standing outside the new M16 headquarters a few minutes later when somebody tapped him on the shoulder.

Alex turned to the person behind him.

"Mr. Rider," a man with specked gray hair said. "Mrs. Jones is waiting for you inside." The man had a smile on his face, but the smile wasn't condescending like Alex had expected; it was friendly and Alex found that he liked the man immediately.

The man led Alex back inside, past the receptionist and through a door that to the casual observer would have looked like part of the wall when closed.

Mrs. Jones was waiting on the other side. Filing cabinets lined the walls of the big white room. There were two chairs and a table. On the table there were two big brown boxes.

Mrs. Jones was standing beside the table reading a file with great interest. She didn't look up from the file she was reading as Alex and the unnamed man walked through the door. Her dark suit was a stark contrast to the bright room.

"Alex, everyone that knows about your job is under constant surveillance," she said.

Alex suddenly thought of Tom, his only real friend at school. He would be in danger and M16 didn't know that Tom knew about Alex being a spy.

_Should I tell them? _Alex wondered. _I told Tom without there consent. What would they do to Tom? _Mrs. Jones started speaking before Alex could say anything.

"You will be staying with some other men that work for us until we can get this mess cleared up." The way she said it left no room for argument and Alex felt himself stiffening.

_Why wasn't I told this earlier today? _Alex thought angrily, _It's my life, I should know things like this. _ M16 always had some trick up their sleeve and it was never for Alex's benefit.

"Excuse me?" he asked coldly. Mrs. Jones glanced at him and then went back to the file as she talked.

"We can't just leave you unprotected. With Scorpia out for your blood and more bent for revenge then ever before, you're in a dangerous position."

Alex found he didn't have a reply and Mrs. Jones continued.

"These men are in danger at the moment, too. If you are all together, we here at M16 would only have to watch one location instead of several. That increases your protection drastically."

Alex wasn't happy about this but he kept quiet.

"Henry, get the car ready," Mrs. Jones ordered. Henry went out another door that blended in with the wall. These men are also trained to deal with deadly situations; they can help protect you if you are ever in danger."

Alex crossed his arms, but he was curious. "Who are these men I'm staying with?" Alex asked grudgingly. If he was going to stay with these men for who knew how long, he needed to know as much about them as he could.

"You'll know soon enough," Mrs. Jones replied. Alex hated it when people spoke like that. "I'm bringing your file and the men's files with us," she said holding up the file in her hand.

"Why?" Alex asked warily.

Mrs. Jones gathered the files before speaking. "I want you to understand these men and I want them to understand you."

Alex was silent and Mrs. Jones turned to him.

"Alex," her black eyes bored into Alex's brown ones, "it would be great if you could get along with them."

"You may have grudges against them, but while you're together, you might have to protect each other."

_Grudges? Why would I have grudges against somebody I never met? _Alex wondered.

Mrs. Jones misunderstood the confusion on Alex's face and she sighed. "What I'm saying is…behave yourself, watch your back and remember to give a little. Who knows, you might even get along with these men."

Alex stared at her.

_Did she just tell me to be good? _Alex though incredulously. This day just kept getting weirder and weirder. He really wanted to demand who she was and what had been done with Mrs. Jones. Before he could think it over Mrs. Jones pointed to one of the boxes on the table.

"Get that, would you?" she said. Her cheeks seemed to be a little pink after her speech.

_She must be embarrassed for trying to give me a pep talk, _Alex thought amusedly. Alex picked up the box; it was so heavy that he almost dropped it. "What in the world do you have in here?" Alex asked incredulously.

Mrs. Jones flashed him an amused glance, which was strange for the usually straight faced women. She placed the files on top of the other box and picked it up. She then led the way out of another door that blended in with the wall.

Alex followed bemusedly. The deceitful door led to a dark garage. A light blue car was running and Alex could see the top of Henry's gray head in the driver's seat.

Mrs. Jones carried the box to the back of the car. Henry popped the trunk and Mrs. Jones dropped the box in with a heavy thud and Alex's box did the same. Mrs. Jones got in the back of the car on one side and Alex got in from the other side. Henry drove off as soon as Alex had shut the door and the acceleration threw Alex back into his seat.

"Henry!" Mrs. Jones scolded as she quickly fastened her seatbelt. Alex could see Henry grinning in the driver's seat and his fondness of the man grew. Alex had millions of questions whirling around his head but he didn't ask them.

They drove out of the busy city, passing building after building, until suddenly the buildings were smaller and there were fewer of them.

Later, when Henry turned onto a bumpy dirt road far outside of the city, Alex knew he was in dilemma. M16 was going to keep him in an old hut somewhere in the middle of the woods, he thought grimly. He would have no connection to the world; all water would come from a spring. There would be no electricity and he'd have to use an outhouse!

Alex was considering jumping out of the car and making a run for it when the car turned a sharp corner.

A house stood in front of them. It was a two-story house and very old. The white paint was chipped and one of the shutters fell of as Alex looked on in horror.

Alex turned around in his seat and stared at Mrs. Jones. _She's not going to leave me here--is she? _Alex thought.

Henry chuckled and then laughed out loud at the sight of Alex's new home. Alex wondered why in the world he had thought anything nice about the old man. He and Mrs. Jones were both clearly devils spawn.

Henry parked in front of the rickety house. Mrs. Jones got out and went to the back of the car. Henry popped the trunk open and Alex got out of the car. Dust drifted up from the ground where he stepped.

Alex took the heavier box out of the car; leaving Mrs. Jones to take the other.

He followed Mrs. Jones to the front door. The ground was uneven and there were holes everywhere. Mrs. Jones was very careful as she climbed the stairs that led to the porch. The boards creaked under her feet. Alex followed warily. He tried to arrange the box so he could see over it and failed.

Mrs. Jones opened the protesting front door without a key and entered. Alex mentally took a deep breath.

This was it; there was no going back after this. He entered the house. The door led to the kitchen and Mrs. Jones laid the box on the counter. The kitchen was painted a light blue. There was another door next to where Mrs. Jones was standing. It was shut, so Alex couldn't see what it led to.

The sink was dripping; a table with for six chairs that only had five was tucked next to a huge window that was covered by gray curtains. Alex looked at the floor. It was brown now, but at one time it had been white.

Alex put down his heavy box as he took this all in and sighed. Mrs. Jones was watching him carefully and Alex dodged her stare.

"So where are my…roommates?" Alex asked awkwardly.

So far he hadn't seen any sign of life in the house. Maybe they were outside. There was plenty of land.

Pressure on his foot made Alex look down. A huge cockroach was crawling across the toe of his shoe. Alex closed his eyes. Maybe this was all a bad dream.

"I don't know where they're at. They should know th--" the banging of a door cut of whatever Mrs. Jones was going to say.

The door that Alex had wondered about hit the wall as it swung around.

A man with short reddish-brown hair filled the doorway. He stopped short as he saw Alex.

"That were here," Mrs. Jones finished her sentence.

Alex watched the man warily. He looked familiar and Alex was searching his memory for his face. Where did he remember him from?

"Double O Nothing?" he asked in surprise.

_Crap, _Alex thought incredulously as he recognized the man. Alex mentally kicked himself. How in the world had he forgotten one of the men that had made his training time at Brecon Beacons complete hell?

Mrs. Jones ignored Eagle's commit. "Is the rest of your team outside as well?" she asked. The man nodded, his eyes still on Alex.

"What are you do--" he cut of his own sentence and an evil grin spread across his face. "You're the one who got us into this mess aren't you?" He asked slyly.

Alex nodded warily. He didn't like where this was going.

"Oh man, Wolf is going to kill you!" Eagle exclaimed with laughter.

"Wolf is here?" Alex asked in horror.

A door slammed shut behind the hazel-eyed man. Heavy footsteps of two or more men came behind Eagle. Some other people were laughing and talking but Alex couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Hey Wolf, come look who's here to see you," Eagle called out and Alex stiffened. The voices abruptly ceased and the footsteps came up right behind the man.

Alex didn't have time to prepare himself as Ben Daniels stepped right behind Eagle.

Ben's curious face turns into a surprised smile.

"Alex!" He exclaimed in surprise. From behind him came two other voices.

"Who?" asked one and the other demanded, "Move!"

Ben and Eagle were pushed out of the doorway. Snake and Wolf appeared inside the kitchen.

Wolf looked at him before recognition filled his eyes.

"You," he growled out and Alex couldn't help it when he winced. His eyes traveled down to Wolf's arm.

Wolf's left arm was wrapped in gauze, and the others seemed to have a few injuries, too. Ben's hand was wrapped loosely in gauze and Snake had a bandage on the side of his neck.

The rest of the men who Alex had trained with once all had different reactions to seeing him here. It was obvious that they hadn't expected him. Eagle looked gleeful as a child and he sat on the counter top next to the boxes and swung his legs back and forth. Ben, or Fox, looked happy to see Alex again, but also wary.

Wolf just looked mad to have Alex near him and Snake was looking between Alex and Mrs. Jones curiously.

All of them were silent, and all of them were staring at Alex.

To Alex's relief, Mrs. Jones broke the silence and the K-Unit turned their attention to her.

"You are all in danger at this time and you might need to protect each other at some time. While you are here you may call each other by your names. Your code names are no longer be necessary as long as you are living together. Also I'm taking away the security boundaries." She looked at each of them in turn.

"You can now tell each other about your missions and what you do in M16. This will only last until--_if _we can do something about Scorpia. After Scorpia is taken care of the security boundaries are back in place as well as the code name status. I trust you will keep each other's private information between yourself. Understood?" she asked. They all nodded.

"Good," Mrs. Jones said. "Now onto other things." She walked to the counter with the boxes on them and the K Unit followed her with there eyes.

She pulled the top of the brown box and Alex could see a ton of videos in the box. Mrs. Jones opened the other box. This one was full, of DVD's.

"Were very busy at M16 right now, so I'm giving you a little job to do while you're here," Mrs. Jones said. Eagle made a face and Wolf turned to glare at Alex like it was his fault.

Alex didn't say anything, nor did he glare back at Wolf.

"All you have to do his transfer these videos tapes to DVD's. The machine you need is in the bottom of one of these boxes. After you do that, label them with the mission's name. If there is no name, classify it by the agent There is also an instruction manual if you need it."

Then Mrs. Jones went out the door front door, leaving a bemused Alex alone with the four men.

_Is she just going to leave me like that? _Alex thought.

If it was this awkward being alone with the K Unit for just a minute, how would it be for days or weeks Alex was going to be staying.

Alex felt sick at the thought.

Mrs. Jones was back a second later with a large black suitcase. "Your clothes are in here," She shoved the suitcase into Alex's arms, making him stumble to Wolf's amusement.

"I'm trying to find you a hideout with better living conditions. This was the only place far enough from the city that we could find in the limited time we had. You have to admit, though, that nobody would ever think of looking here," she said with faint amusement.

The K Unit didn't say anything to Mrs. Jones. Wolf was still staring at Alex.

"That's all, then. I'll be going," Mrs. Jones said hurriedly.

Now that Mrs. Jones was leaving Alex felt a wave of helplessness come over him.

What in the world was he going to do without Mrs. Jones here to stop Wolf from killing him? Alex watched as she walked out the door. He heard Henry crank the car and then suddenly he was alone.

Someone cleared there throat behind him. _Well, almost alone, _Alex thought.

Alex turned to the K Unit. Eagle was still swinging his legs back and forth. He was either oblivious to the tension in the air or he didn't care. Alex decided to try and break the tension.

"How's your arm?" He asked Fox.

The last time he had seen Fox he had been in a cast because of a bullet wound. Fox was looking slightly relieved that Alex had begun to speak first. "It's healing real well. I got to take of my cast last week," He said cheerfully.

Alex nodded and the house creaked loudly in the silence that followed. _It really sounds like it could fall down at any second. _Alex thought warily.

"Why aren't you staying with someone else?" Wolf asked rather abruptly.

Eagle's looked up eagerly. Alex frowned at him and then looked at Wolf. "I didn't really have a choice," Alex said with clenched teeth. He didn't want to argue, or fight, for that matter. But he also didn't want to be here and look where he was.

"Why aren't you staying somewhere with your parents?" Wolf growled out.

Wolf obviously didn't know that Alex was an orphan. There was no pity or discomfort on the faces of the other members of the K Unit. Alex figured that they didn't know either. He thought over on how to answer him and decided to be blunt.

"They're dead," Alex said without emotion.

The reaction from the K Unit varied, and Alex watched with interest. Eagle jerked backwards before freezing. His face was shocked and he had stopped his swinging legs.

Surprise slithered across Wolf's face before he could stop himself. Snake's eyes were flickering between his friends. Fox was watching Alex intently. His expression was guarded; Alex couldn't meet his eyes so he looked down.

"What about you relatives?" Wolf asked. His voice wasn't as hard anymore; it was tentative. Alex felt a little anger come over him at Wolf's tone. _He must think I'm fragile now or something else stupid, _Alex thought bitterly.

Alex knew he had to answer so he took a mental deep breath. It wouldn't help to lose his temper he reminded himself. Alex thought a second before answering.

"Don't have any left," he said in a grimly amused voice.

Wolf was starting to look flustered. Alex didn't like the reason behind it but he had to admit that he was thoroughly enjoying the look on Wolf's face.

"Guardian?" Wolf asked cautiously. The rest of the team waited for Alex's answer impatiently.

Alex had to think about that. Jack wasn't really his guardian; there was no legal document saying she was.

_Who is my guardian? _Alex wondered.

Alex broke out of his slight trance to see the K Unit staring sat him.

"You don't know who your guardian is, do you?" Snake asked slowly. His Irish accent was only faintly recognizable as he asked his question with amazement.

Alex shrugged and the K Unit glanced at each other.

"Didn't your parents assign you a godparent?" Wolf asked. His arms were still crossed but in his state of disbelief they loosened.

Alex stiffened noticeably as thoughts of his godfather filled his mind. Ash had been killed on Alex's last mission. He had lied to Alex throughout the whole mission by portraying himself to be on Alex's side and Alex had hated him for it.

Alex looked to find the K Unit watching him.

"No," Alex said. Wolf stared at Alex like he could see straight through his lie. Alex shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"So we're stuck with you because there's no one else to take you, right?" Wolf asked harshly. His dark eyes flash angrily.

"Wolf..." Fox started is a tired voice.

Wolf bared his teeth in a vicious snarl before turning on his heel and leaving the room. Fox sighed before coming over to clap Alex on the back.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go find you a room."

Alex followed Fox out of the kitchen and into another larger room that was in just as bad condition. Peeling paint, torn gray carpet and a few pieces of furniture.

"This is the living room, which has been dead for years," Eagle said from behind Alex.

Fox snorted and Alex saw Snake smile thinly. There was no sign of Wolf in the dust covered room but there were big footprints on the carpet leading out the back door.

Fox led Alex up a set of creaking stairs and down a thin hall. They entered a room that was small and gray. A twin sized bed was in one corner and a fragile desk in the other. A cracked window was the only thing that let light into the otherwise dark room.

"Well," Fox said, "this will have to do until M16 decides to move us."

"Home sweet home," Alex said dryly as he looked around at the bleak room.

Eagle sat down on the small bed that bent under his bed. Dust flew up from the bed and surrounded Eagle who burst into a coughing fit. Alex put down his suitcase to look around better.

"Cub," Fox said suddenly turning to Alex, "don't take Wolf's atitude personaly."

Alex turned to the tall man with his full attention.

"Wolf was with his girlfriend when Scorpia attacked him--" Alex cut Fox of with a horror-filled voice.

"Oh God, is she okay? No wonder he hates me! I--" Alex's anxious words were cut of as Fox held up his hands.

"Cheryl was fine," he said reassuringly. "Mad and scared as hell, but she wasn't injured."

Alex let out a deep breath that he hadn't known he was holding. _Okay, so I didn't get Wolf's girlfriend killed. That's good, _Alex thought shakily.

"Cheryl broke up with Wolf right after that," Fox said quickly. Alex flinched and Snake patted him on the back with symphony.

"You're a dead man," Eagle said with a chuckle. Alex shot him a half-hearted glare that Eagle laughed at.

"I don't know why Wolf is so mad," Snake said. "From the way he talked about her before, it sounded like he really didn't care that much for her."

Fox shrugged carelessly, "You know Wolf; he's weird like that sometimes."

"So," Eagle said from the bed, "are you going to tell us what in the world you did to piss of Scorpia?"

Alex's expression must have said that he didn't want to. Fox glanced at his wrist watch, "I'm starved, so let's eat before we get into that."

Eagle, Snake and Alex nodded there consent. In the kitchen a few minutes later Fox placed half a loaf of bread and a container of peanut butter on to the counter.

"Bon appetit," he said with a grin.

Eagle groaned loudly at the site. "If I eat any more peanut butter my mouth is going to be stuck together permanently!"

"So you wouldn't be able to talk?" Snake asked with a rather wicked grin as he opened the jar.

Eagle put on a hurt expression and placed his hand over his heart. "Are you implying that you don't enjoy hearing my dulcet tones?"

Snake snorted with dry amusement and Alex couldn't help smiling.

Fox was ignoring his friend's antics as he made himself a sandwich, but Alex could see his lips twitching.

_If I can avoid Wolf maybe staying here won't be so bad. _Alex thought as he prepared himself a sandwich.

The K Unit stopped talking as a door slammed shut. Heavy footsteps made their way to the kitchen, and Wolf filled the doorway. He studied the scene with a slight sneer on his face but he didn't even glance at Alex.

Alex had decided to keep his mouth closed around Wolf but Eagle didn't seem to mind the tension.

"Hey Wolf-man, want a sandwich?" he asked cheerfully; waving his sandwich in the air.

Alex almost flinched, _Wolf-man? He's dead meat,_ he thought with sympathy.

To his surprise Wolf only glared half-heartedly at Eagle before grabbing the loaf of bread and the peanut butter jar. After snatching the butter knife out of Alex's hand he left the room.

Fox sighed at Wolf's childish behavior before smiling at Alex.

"He'll get better after a few days," he said reassuringly to Alex.

"I hope so," Alex said truthfully. He really didn't want to live with a mad Wolf-man. With a mental sigh Alex turned to look out the window. He already missed Jack.

A\N: So here is the next chapter, sorry it took me so long to post, L I know that Mrs. Jones seemed kind of out of character but I don't imagine her as a heartless women so in this story you shall see my version of her. But don't worry; there will be more action then Mrs. Jones. I'm open to any tips, suggestions, or constructive criticism you might have. Now it's time to thank my wonderful reviewers!

**Draek Dragonclaw: **Here is your update, not as soon as I would of liked though. LOL, Glad you love the story already and thanks for your review!

**CMT1992: **The K Unit and Alex are such fun characters aren't they? I loved them from the first book, thank you for the review!

…**Um…someone: **Lol, nice name! ;) I love them to! And the more popular AR gets the more stories we have to read! Thanks for your review!

**AD: **Glad you think so and thanks for the review!

**AD: **LOL, There's two of you! Yeah, I love tragedy so Alex will suffer a lot in this story, Lol. Thanks so much! I'm very glad you like it and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Thanks for the review!

**Eagle's daughter: **Wow! Thanks for all the help! I didn't even think about poor Tom so he only got mentioned in this chapter because of you! J I was already reading and loving Operation Protect Cub but I hadn't read the other two. I really like Poison now but sadly I haven't had a chance to read The Cunning Hand. The K Unit will know as much as Alex decides to tell them about his missions. But the K Unit will be asking so questions after they watch those videos! I'm looking forward to your review and thanks for this one!

**Gold is power: **Thanks for your review!

**Master of Minds: **JI'm glad that you like it! I wish I could make each chapter like 6000 words long! I'll try to make them longer and thanks for the tip and for the review!

**Emeralds: **The K Unit is wonderful and there my favorite type of AR stories too! I'm working on another story (Come What May) that I must update also and I still have school and all so I won't make promises as to when I can update. But I _will _update, I have to many ideas for this story to let it go to waste! J

**Lisbet687: **AR fan fiction rocks! Thanks for your review!

**Caracole: **Thanks for the kind words and for the review!

**PsychoWing: **Definitely with Wolf but the others--well you will just have to wait and see. J Thanks for the review!

**Carsinya: **Yay! Thank you so much! My beta deserves all the credit with the grammar and spelling, J I can't stand messy stories! I've seen a lot in AR fan fiction where people just didn't seem to care. I'm glad Alex's reactions were in IC, I hoped they would be! Thanks for your review!

**Keatlin: **The beloved K Unit made there appearance! What did you think? Thanks for the review!

**Ljus: **Okay, I am not going to delete it. J Thanks for the review!

**Emmy-loo: **Thanks Emmy! Cute name by the way, J I'll try to keep Alex in character. I wouldn't read AR fan fiction if it wasn't for the K Unit so I definitely agree that there wonderful! Thanks for the review!

**Jossi-kun: **I just hope the middle and the end are good too! LOL, J Thanks for the review!

**Mystery gal: **Glad you love it! Thanks for the review!

**BellaBooTwilight: **Thanks so much Bella! I hope you enjoy this chapter too! And I loved Twilight by the way, Lol, if only New Moon and Eclipse had been that good! Thanks for the review!

Okay that's all! Please review for they feed my muse and I love them! Hope you all enjoyed!

SmellyCat710


	3. Chapter 3

Alex had just enough time to choke down the rest of his peanut butter sandwich before the K Unit, with the exception of Wolf, stomped its way outside. Alex eyes stung as the sunlight hit them. It was only then that he realized how dark the house had been compared to outside.

"I think that in the last five days I've been here," Fox told Alex dryly, "I've been outside more often then inside."

Alex could understand why. The house was extremely dirty as far as dust went. It was clear that the K Unit hadn't even bothered to try and get it clean.

It was beautiful outside, not too warm with a cool breeze that ruffled Alex's hair.

Fox, Snake, Eagle, and Alex were walking down an old path. Alex didn't know where it led, but he was glad to be out of the stuffy shack that he could barely see now.

Alex was glad that the men he was walking with had not asked about Scorpia yet. He really did _not _want to talk about them and their revenge tactics.

"Where are we, exactly?" Alex asked them. Snake turned slightly to flash Alex a grin.

"Why do you want to know? You thinking of running away, Cub?"

"You never know…." Alex said quietly but they all heard and Eagle started laughing.

Fox frowned after a second, "You wouldn't get to far with all the snakes around here."

Eagle's halted his laugh and his walk. "Snakes? What snakes?" He asked in a slightly high but nonchalant tone.

Fox spun around and pointing at Eagles booted foot yelled, "That snake!"

Eagle swore in a mutter and jumped away from the area he had been standing in. Snake burst into laughter at Eagle's red face and Fox smiled in satisfaction. Alex watched them with a smile.

_I thought I was supposed to be the teenager, _he thought with humor.

The sound of a stick cracking made Alex spin around already in combat position. Behind him the rest of the K Unit followed his movements. Wolf was watching him from the side of the path with a raised eyebrow.

"Jumpy aren't you?" he drawled in a bored tone.

"Dam--I mean _darn _Wolf!" Eagle stammered with a glance in Alex's direction for his language. Wolf smirked at him and shot a narrowed eyed look in Alex's direction.

"Why'd you sneak up on us like that?" Snake asked with crossed arms with the slight twist in his lips.

Wolf snorted and moved onto the path. Alex subtly stepped out of Wolf's way; he did not want the man bumping into him, accidentally or not.

"I did not sneak up on you; you just didn't hear me," Wolf said innocently.

"Right," Eagle drawled out, sarcasm dripping of his word. Fox started back up the path and only wavering for a second Alex followed.

"Where are we heading?" Alex asked Fox in a low voice. Fox shrugged. "There's a river up the path but we wouldn't be able to get there before night fall. I just didn't want to start right away on that stuff Jones gave us to do."

Alex nodded in understanding. "It doesn't look like there's a lot to do around here."

"There isn't," Snake said from behind Alex, who turned just in time to see Wolf aim a swat at Eagle's head. "That didn't take long," said Fox who had seen as well.

"Yeah, Eagle must be extra annoying today," Snake said in amusement.

"Extra annoying?" Alex asked curiously. The two men groaned in unison.

"You'll see," Fox said with a sigh.

"And you'll never be the same," moaned Snake before chuckling dryly.

"He's like a child," Fox said in exasperation. "A very tall child." Alex laughed at that and Fox smiled at him. Alex shook his head at the men's theatrics; he was starting to enjoy himself.

"Are you guys talking about me?" Eagle appeared right beside Alex.

Fox groaned and buried his head in his hands. "Kill me please!" He moaned in mock horror. Suddenly a thunderclap rattled the sky and the whole K Unit jumped at the unexpected noise.

"I was joking!" Fox cried out to the cloud infested sky. "You've doomed us all, Fox," Eagle said sadly.

Snake rolled his eyes at Alex. Thunder rumbled overhead and the K Unit exchanged looks before turning around to go back.

Alex had not taken three steps before he felt a drop of water. _It's either raining or Wolf just spat on me, _Alex thought grimly. No matter what it was, Alex did not want to stick around, so he sped up.

A few minutes later, four soaking wet men and one teen were running full speed through the pounding rain. Alex thought that the rain felt more like hail stones. He was sure that if he looked later he would find bruises.

Alex noticed that Fox and Snake kept glancing at him, like they thought he would fall down or something. _They don't know me very well, do they? _Alex thought with humor.

He thought seriously about pretending to fall just to see their reactions, but Alex did not want to push his luck.

_What if Wolf tripped over me?_ _I'd never walk again! _Alex sped up even more at that thought.

Unfortunately, Eagle's childlike nature took this as a challenge. He started running sideways towards Alex, forcing the teen to slow down or crash into him. Eagle had a big smile on his face as Alex shot a quick glare at him.

_I can't let him get away with that, _Alex thought wickedly. He saw a thick stick that lay right in front of where Eagle was running. As they came closer to the stick Alex jerked sideways while still running and yelled, "Snake!"

_The animal not the human, _thought Alex dryly.

Eagle saw the stick and mistaking it for a threat he skidded to a halt. But in his haste he slipped--and landed face down in the mud. Alex started laughing so hard he almost fell over. It was hard to laugh and run at the same time. He could hear Fox and Snake laughing as well from somewhere behind him.

Alex saw the house in the distance and was surprised to find that he was happy to see it.

The back door was unlocked and Alex barged through it, grateful to be out of the rain.

He backed away from the door just as Fox, Snake, and a very dirty Eagle and lastly Wolf came in.

The room was dark and Alex made to turn on a light. The light did not come on when Alex flicked the switch. Fox seeing his efforts frowned and tried another light.

"Uugh!" He groaned with his shoulders slumped, "The electricity's out."

"Wonderful," Wolf snarled and glared at Alex like it was _his _fault.

Eagle saw the look. "Play nice," he said in a scolding voice.

Wolf gave him a look that could kill before he spun on one foot and stomped his way up the stairs. The rest of the K Unit stared up after him and suddenly a crashing noise and muffle cursing.

Alex bit his lip to stop himself from laughing, but Eagle did not have any problem laughing at himself and he let out snorts and snickers like they were going out of style.

'I'm going to look for some matches," Snake said a smirk on his face as well.

A few minutes of searching produced an almost empty box of matches and a very dirty candle. Fox tried to get all the dust of but it seemed to be made into the candle.

"We don't want to burn the place down," he grumbled before freezing and looking at Alex. Eagle and Snake had heard what Fox had said and they too turned to stare at Alex.

Alex just rolled his eyes at them before turning away to finish searching the cupboards for food.

He heard the K Unit turn back to their jobs and the almost silent sigh of relief that Eagle let lose. Alex smirked at the insides of the cupboard. Something glinted in the corner had Alex reaching his hand through the cobwebs to get at a jar of--soup?

_What the heck is it?_ Alex thought in disgust as he stared at the reddish stuff in the glass jar. The jar itself was covered in grime and using his shirt Alex tried to wipe it off.

The contents had nothing distinguishable to tell the teen what it was and Alex was not about to taste it to find out what it was.

Alex placed the jar to the side and looked back in the cupboard. After a few minutes he gave up not finding anything eatable.

"You'd think they would at least give us some food," grumbled Eagle as he opened the fridge for the third time in two minutes. Alex wondered if the man thought food was just going to appear.

In the end they got stuck with peanut butter sandwiches again. Alex made no complaints as he ate the rather thin sandwich with Snake, Eagle and Fox. Wolf did not show up through the meal and Alex had a feeling that he was not going to.

Eagle was making a joke about a candlelight dinner but Alex wasn't really listening.

They did not have anything to wash down the peanut butter and Alex wondered what M16 would do if he died from dehydration. They could not drink the water from the tap. Alex had discovered that when he had turned the bathroom water on to find the color of the water was brown.

Fox interrupted his gruesome thoughts by shaking a canteen in front of his face.

"Cub, Hello? Anybody home?" the man said with a smile making Alex wonder how long he had been staring into space. He swatted the man away irritably but Fox just chuckled. Snake and Eagle both had smiles on there face at Alex's expense.

Fox held out the canteen again and Alex took it warily.

"It's water," Snake said, "There's none in this house that's drinkable but we got that from the creek near the river we told you about."

Fox nodded toward the canteen in Alex's hand. "That's all we have left until we can get more tomorrow."

Alex nodded but looked at it warily, seeing his hesitation Fox spoke up, "We did a test on it and it's clean Unless you'd rather drink the water from the tap?" The last sentence was said with a kidding grin. Alex was careful not to drink too much of the water. They moved to the living room and sat around the gloomy room in silence.

"How in the world did we get stuck here?" Eagle asked as he looked out the window. It was still pouring water from the sky and it did not look likely to stop anytime soon.

"I'm not complaining as long as we get out of here soon," Snake replied.

"We've probley already been forgotten. M16 always attends to the most important matters first," said a voice from the stairs. Alex turned in his seat to watch Wolf descend the stairs two at a time. "Now that they have us tucked away in the middle of nowhere, we are no longer there number one priority," Wolf said bitterly.

Alex looked away but nodded in agreement. If Wolf noticed he did not say anything.

Wolf wandered into the kitchen and a few moments later came back out with a sandwich. One of the boxes with the DVDs and personal files was under one of his muscular arms.

Alex stiffened slightly as he remembered that his own file was in Wolf's clutches.

_The last thing I need is for Wolf to learn everything about me, _Alex thought as he shifted on the dusty couch. Wolf would use it to embarrass him or manipulate him for his own ways. How could he get his file without drawing attention to himself?

If Wolf knew that Alex did not want him to look at his personal file he would undoubtedly open it right then and there. And since Alex had no idea how much information that file held, the blond teen was rightfully anxious.

He hoped that the K Unit could not read his emotions, but by the grin on Eagle's face Alex figured he was hopeless in the art of subtly. Wolf eithier did not notice how uncomfortable Alex looked or he pretended not to. Alex was betting that he was pretending. Snake and Fox leaned forward to get there files and took them out of the box without any trouble.

Wolf was now reading his own file with interest; Alex could see his eyes scroll back and forth over the type. Alex took a chance and more or less lunged forward to grab his file.

But, sadly, someone beat him to it. Eagle grinned as he waved Alex's file in front of the teen's narrowed eyes.

"Well lookie what I got," Eagle said tauntingly flipping through the pages without looking at them. Fox must have seen the worried look on Alex's face because he leaned forward uncomfortably. "Eagle," Fox started to say but Eagle suddenly frowned.

"Why is your folder bigger then mine?" The reddish brown haired man was actually pouting and Snake snickered while Wolf rolled his eyes before pretending to ignore them all.

"Because they like me more," Alex said teasingly and when Eagle started to chuckle he made a grab for the file. But Eagle had been recruited for a reason and he jumped out of the way, laughing as he did so.

"Not fast enough, Cub," Eagle commited breezily and to Alex those words felt like a challenge.

"Eagle, give Cub back his file," Fox said slowly as he flipped through his own. Alex glanced over at them to see Wolf grinning like his namesake while Snake looked more amused then worried. Eagle ignored his friends command and started flipping through the pages more slowly then before.

Eagle's eyebrows rose suddenly and he held up a picture. "She's hot," he stated bluntly. He was holding a picture of Jack that looked like it had been taken by a street side camera. Alex jumped on Eagle while he was still distracted by his housekeeper.

"Oooph!" Air burst past Eagles lips as he landed hard on the carpet behind the couch. Alex stood up smugly; his file held firmly in one hand and the picture of Jack in the other.

The teen stepped over the man still lying on the floor and hurriedly sat back down far away from Eagle. Fox was hiding his grin in the folder but Snake was openly smirking.

Wolf on the other hand looked a little put out and Alex shot the man a sly look.

"Ow," Eagle said from behind the couch.

"What's the matter Eagle? Is a kid to much for you to handle?" Alex frowned at Wolf calling him a 'kid' but did not say anything.

_He's trying to get a rise out of you and its working; don't give him the satisfaction of seeing you get angry, _Alex mentally coached himself.

Eagle got up and moved over to plop down beside Alex. The teen watched him warily and Eagle smiled.

"Who's the redhead?" Eagle asked indifferently and Wolf smirked at him.

"Housekeeper," Alex said bluntly. Eagle seemed to deflate at the small amout of information. "That's all you're going to tell me?"

"Yes," Alex said and Fox started laughing.

Snake leaned forward with a question. "Where did M16 stick her?"

The other members seemed to still at the question as they waited for an anwser.

"Jack went back to America to live with her parents," Alex said.

"Jack," Eagle said as if musing over the name.

"Aww, he's in love already," Wolf said sarcastically. Snake started humming the Wedding March but Eagle did not seem to mind that he was the butt of their jokes.

"So is she like your, uh, babysitter?" Eagle said with an uncertain glance at the teen sitting next to him.

_It's like he thinks I'm going to punch him for implying I need a babysitter, _Alex though amusedly. The other men seemed to think the idea was funny but true. Wolf was grinning evilly.

"Yeah, Jack is like a permanet babysitter," Alex said easily and got satisfaction out of seeing there looks of surprise because he did not blow up.

"How long has she been around?" Fox asked as he got interested in the conversation.

Alex looked out the window with its filthy shades and said, "Jack's been around for years now."

"I guess she knows about your…hobby?" Snake asked with a grin at his use of the word hobby and Eagle snickered beside Alex.

"Yeah, she knows," Alex said. Something in his tone must have warned the K Unit that he did not like to talk about his job because they did not say a thing. Soon after that Alex wandered upstairs to go to bed with a candle in his hand for light. He was not sure what time it was because there was no clock but by the way his eyes were starting to ache, he figured it was late enough.

He made it to his small bedroom without making any racket. Before he shut his bedroom door he was sure he heard Eagle asking Wolf why he could not do that, meaning the noise Wolf had made earlier when he had come upstairs.

Alex could hear the yelp of pain through the door and he grinned at the room. Without changing his clothes Alex fell on his bed heavily. Just as fast, he jumped back out of bed. The graying comforter was soaking wet and the second Alex had been on the bed had resulted in slightly wet clothing.

Peering at the ceiling Alex saw the rotted spot on his ceiling. A drop of water fell as Alex watched and added more moisture to the already-soaking bed.

"Brilliant," Alex grumbled as he wondered what he was going to do now.

After searching the room Alex found a rusting pail under the bed. Alex did not spend time wondering what if was for and just put it on the bed right under the leak.

The water made a sharp sound as it hit the bottom of the pail and Alex resigned himself to listening to the annoying sound all night long. There were a couple of folded blankets on the end of the bed that were still dry. Alex grabbed them and after searching the floor for any big bugs or rodents, made a makeshift bed on the floor. Alex usually slept without his shirt, but since he was sharing the floor with who-knew-how many creatures he decided against it. Blowing out the candle and settling down on the floor Alex tried to get comfortable.

He listened as the K Unit finally went to bed and he grinned sleepily as he heard Wolf pounding across the floor louder then was necessary. The steady rhythm of the rain across the roof and the drip hitting the inside of the pail finally made him drift to sleep.

**A/N: **Sorry about the wait. What do you think so far? Should I start another AR story? :)

Time to give the reviewers my thanks!

Gold is power, Psychowing, (wince) sorry, my fault. Rasgara, Lake25, Hails, Thank you, I do try! BellaBooTwilight, Congrats! And thanks for reviewing! Master of Minds, Enda, Aww! Your sweet, thanks. Jake Caldefore, HawkEye DownUnder, Lisbet687, Dragon Rider of Alagaesia, AD, mOOnlite-duskk, Skyheart92, Keatlin, Ichihime, Emmy-loo, I have a beta but thanks for offering! Kaisaan, Mystery gal, Thanks, but you really only need to review once, lol. After that please send me a PM. TanyaPotter, EbonyShadow1717, Rose-Aislin, Knighted lioness, Foramina, Jusmine.


	4. Chapter 4

"Wake up!" a voice yelled in Alex's ear. Alert instincts had the half awake Alex throwing a punch in the general direction of the voice as he sat up blinking, from his spot on the floor. Three voices burst into laughter as Alex's fist hit soft flesh.

Alex blinked angrily at Eagle, who was clutching his nose as he sat looking surprised on the carpet. It was morning and Eagle had tried to give Alex a classic wake-up call. The teen's blond head turned to glare at the three laughing men barely standing in the doorway. Even though Alex was surprised to see Wolf laughing with Fox and Snake, he did not let it show.

"He got you there, Eagle," Fox said. Eagle still had his hand over his nose.

"Sorry," said Alex in an insincere voice as he stood from his makeshift bed.

"Sure you are," Eagle said from behind his hand and Alex grinned widely.

"Did you sleep on the floor all night long?" Snake asked Alex as he surveyed the blankets on the floor. Alex nodded and pointed to the bed which still had the pail on top of it. "There is a leak in the ceiling right over the bed. The entire mattress was soaked."

Snake nodded and Fox spoke up. "Come on, we want to get an early start for the river,"

Alex nodded and the K Unit made their way downstairs.

…………………..

After grabbing every canteen and container with a lid they had and two backpack the carry the containers in they were on their way to the river to get water. Alex had not bothered to change and he wore the same clothes as yesterday. The K Unit did not stop to eat breakfast first, but Alex was fine with that.

"Maybe the power will be back on when we get back," Fox said hopefully. The storm had cut off the electricity in the old house and it was still off.

The day was bright and sunny outside but extremely wet. The air was also humid from the rain and after only a few minutes, Alex's clothes were slightly damp.

"So how far away is the river?" Alex asked as they trudged along the muddy path.

Unexpectedly, it was Wolf who answered Alex's question.

"It's about five miles away," he answered easily and even glanced at Alex without malicious intent.

_Maybe he won't be so bad,_ Alex thought at the other man's comfortable tone.

Although Alex could not blame Wolf for disliking him, it was distracting. Alex was sure that if he had been in Wolf's place he would not like himself either. Plus training at Brecon Beacons with a teenager had most likely made him the laughing stock of the whole community. The more Alex thought about it the more he understood.

_I just had to get stuck with Wolf at Brecon Beacons_, Alex thought wryly. The man was proud and Alex had embarrassed him by getting paired with his team.

Alex was torn out of his musing as Eagle bumped into him, almost knocking him over.

"Sorry," Eagle said sheepishly and pointed at a smirking Wolf. "He tripped me," Eagle said accusingly.

Alex rolled his eyes but did not say anything to the man. The forest floor was mostly brown with fallen leaves but there were a few ferns dotted here and there. Alex decided that he was enjoying himself as he walked at an unhurried pace. There was nobody to tell him what to do and more importantly, nobody trying to kill him.

It was almost perfect. Sadly, Alex knew it would not last. M16 would make a deal with Scorpia and then call Alex back in to do another spy job for them.

Alex sighed. _And they won't give me choice to say no, _Alex thought with a frown. Shaking himself out of his glum thoughts, Alex turned to glance behind him. The K Unit was walking just far enough away so that Alex could not here what they were saying.

The blond slowed his walk and the others caught up to him gradually.

"…no where near as bad!" Fox was saying incredulously to Eagle. The other man protested that, "It is so much worse!" Alex watched them with curiosity and amusement.

Fox spun towards the teen suddenly, "Cub, what's worse, being stuck in a car that's about to be crushed or being stuck in a locked room with a dangerous animal?"

Alex stared at the four men and stopped walking. "What?" The teen asked in amusement and puzzlement.

Eagle sighed impatiently. "Which worse case scenario is worse?"

Wolf was shaking his head at his comrades but he hung around to hear Alex's answer.

Alex thought for a moment. Animals were just that, animals, and most of the time unpredictable, untrained and always dangerous. He had been stuck in a car that was going to be crushed before and he had survived that. That incident had been before M16 had trained him.

"The car is worse," Alex said shortly and he turned and started walking again. The rest of the K Unit caught up with him quickly.

"How do you figure that?" Wolf asked him and Alex shrugged before answering.

"It's just a guess, Wolf," Alex said uncomfortably and he looked for a way to subtly change the subject. _Come on think of something! _Alex thought wildly. Eagle's next words startled Alex out of his thoughts.

"You were in that position once, weren't you?" The usually carefree and funny man had an expression of seriousness that Alex had never seen on his face. A quick look around showed Alex that all the men were watching him and not moving a hair.

Not seeing anyway out of not answering but having no answer prepared, Alex nodded before hastily walking away. Heavy footsteps followed him and Alex sped up slightly. Unease and slight dread was starting to course through his veins; he did _not _want to talk about his…hobby.

A slim but muscular arm slid around his shoulders and Alex stiffened at the contact.

"You can't actually believe were going to let you get away after _that_," said Snake's voice near his ear. Alex stared straight ahead, not acknowledging the men next to him.

Eagle groaned and moved in front of Alex with his arms crossed.

'You can't leave us on the edge like that. And besides, Jones said that the security issues didn't matter while we were here so _spill_." He poked Alex in the chest as he spoke the last word and the teen glared at the smirking man.

Alex could practically hear the K Unit grins as his shoulders slumped in compliance and hit teeth gritted together.

The teen started to walk again, staring at the trodden down path in front of him. _How do I start?_ Alex thought lost for words.

Fox helped him. "How did you end up in the car?" He prodded slowly and the other men were listening to every word.

Alex sighed and after wiping his sweating palm of his jeans, he began to speak.

"I was in a junkyard looking for…evidence on how my uncle died," he began and knew that by the K Unit's expressions that he would have to start at the beginning.

He did not like talking about his past with a bunch of men that barely knew him. While they knew a lot more then other people, Alex still felt uneasy and slightly worried about talking to them. Alex told himself to settle down and started to speak again.

"I was told that my uncle died in a car crash and that he could have survived if he had worn a seat belt. But Ian, that's my uncle, was very careful when it came to seat belts. So I got curious and traced my uncle's car down to a nearby junk yard."

Snake, Eagle, Wolf, and Fox were listening intently to Alex. The teen knew that they would remember everything he said and he hoped that they would not ask questions. Now that the had started talking he did not want to stop until he was done.

"I found my Ian's car and the driver side was covered with bullet holes," Alex's voice had gotten quieter as he talked. A memory of Ian's car torn apart by bullets came into his mind and he paused. Alex could feel the K Unit's eyes on him but he did not meet their gazes.

"As I was looking at the car I heard voices coming towards my direction. Obviously, I wasn't allowed in the junk yard, and with nowhere else to go I jumped into the car and shut the door."

Knowing where this was going, Eagle frowned. _They are a good audience, _thought Alex.

"One man was asking another how come he hadn't gotten rid of a car yet. The he told the other man to get rid of the can immediately, they went away and I was wondering if it was safe to come out."

"That's when the crane picked up the car with me in it," Alex said and grinned when Fox flinched. "The crane deposited the car and me into the crusher." Even Wolf seemed interested now.

"As the car pressure built up on the car the back window busted and I escaped," Alex said with a shrug.

The K Unit looked at him incredulously. "You're making it sound like you got away without a scratch," Wolf said in almost a grumble.

Alex shook his head. "I lost a shoe, totally destroyed a school outfit and had plenty of scratches."

Wolf nodded and Fox opened his mouth to speak. "How long ago was this?"

"About a year ago," Alex replied and Fox frowned. "When did you get involved with M16?"

"That day after the incident in the junkyard," Eagle stared at him like he had never seen him before. "How many mission have you gone on so far?"

Alex frowned back at the reddish haired man and wished he knew where he was going with his questions.

"Seven," Alex said shortly. At there silence Alex turned to look at them fully.

"What?" He asked in an annoyed tone, even Fox was looking at him oddly.

"Nothing, Cub," Snake said, "It's just that I've never heard of that many missions completed in less than a year."

"They were easy things, I bet," Wolf said and Alex ignored him.

"How long are your rest periods?" Fox asked. "What?" Alex asked in bafflement, _what rest period? _He thought.

"Normally you get a week or two off after completing missions, or at least that's what the pamphlet said," Snake said.

Fox nodded. "I got time off if I wasn't needed after completing missions."

Alex nodded but did not answer the previous question. All of the sudden Alex noticed the large number of ferns around him. _Ferns mean that water is near,_ Alex thought. He had been so busy with his conversation he had not realized how far they had come.

Alex could already hare the rushing of water and it was then that he realized how dry his mouth was. He had not drunk anything since last night and after walking for so long he was thirsty.

The K Unit quickened their steps and the next moment Alex was flat out running trying to beat Eagle to the river. The older man was ahead of him but Alex caught up quickly. Exhilaration flowed through his veins as they came to the river. They had made it to the river at the same time and Eagle gave Alex a grin.

The rest of the men arrived and together they moved closer to the rushing river. Alex could see an old-looking rope bridge that went over the rushing river that he had not seen before. It was almost hidden by grown up weeds that had only recently been walked upon.

"The creek that we got the water from is on the other side of the river," Fox said to Alex, who nodded and looked to see how they had gotten across. The K Unit headed toward the bridge and Alex followed, uneasiness starting to develop in his stomach.

_Surly they aren't going to get across by the bridge, _Alex thought as he started after them. The rickety thing did not look like it could hold up much weight.

Eagle was already starting across the creaky rope bridge and Wolf saw Alex's worried expression. Instead of taunting him like Alex expected, the man said, almost reassuringly, "We did this just the other day, it was fine then and it will be fine now."

Alex nodded but he was still wary of the wooden construction. Eagle made it across first and Snake followed after him, the bridge moving back and forth the entire time.

Fox had just made it across and Wolf gave Alex a small shove towards the bridge.

Alex started across slowly his feet were wobbly and uncertain. The wooden planks looked rotten and Alex swallowed loudly. The teen was aware that he was taking longer then everyone else, but he didn't care. Wolf was willing to be patient, though, as Alex soon found out. The bridge started to shudder as Wolf walked onto it behind Alex. With a wicked grin on his face Wolf caused the bridge to swing back and forth.

"Better hurry up, Cub, before it falls!" The man called out mockingly and Alex felt a surge of dislike. The teen did not say anything but just kept walking and tried not to look at the surging river so far below him.

Wolf was still a little ways behind the teen shaking the bridge and urging Alex on by doing so. Alex took another step forward then another wishing the whole time that he had come across last.

A cracking sound was the only warning Alex had as he stepped onto another plank. Then his foot fell through the rotten wood. Wooden splinters cut into his leg as he fell through to his knee. Shouts of alarm that were not his own, echoed all around the teen. Then the plank which carried Alex's other foot busted and fell.

Alex fell through the bridge and barely managed to grab another plank with his hands and stop his fall.

"Hold on, Cub!" yelled an alarmed Eagle. The teen was hanging limply from the bridge and he could feel drops of water on his feet from the raging river underneath.

Alex chanced a look down as he tried to figure out how to get out of his predicament, quickly he looked back up.

Splinters of wood were cutting into his hands, making Alex wince. His hold was loosening and he dug his fingernails into the wet wood. A little blood ran down his arms from the wounds on his hands. The bridge suddenly started to creak in multiple places and Alex knew that the bridge was about to come down.

"Hurry!" The blond screamed at the men who were trying to get to him without putting themselves in danger as well.

Alex tried to pull himself up but he could not. The wooden plank that Alex was holding on to suddenly broke and with nothing to hold up anymore Alex fell.

But something strong wrapped around his bloodied wrist and jerked Alex's falling body to a stop. Alex reached up to grab a hold of the hand and another hand grabbed his flailing one.

The scared teen looked up to see Wolf looking down at him and holding both of his hands in his own.

Wolf pulled him up and they stumbled the rest of the way across the failing bridge. Wolf tripped over something just of the bridge and he fell breathing hard. Alex fell with him, breathing hard also from his adrenaline rush. Alex sat up from the ground and watched as the bridge fell into the roaring river, busting as it hit the rocks. Alex winced thinking that that could have been him.

Eagle, Fox and Snake were wide eyed as they looked between the two sitting on the ground and the place where the bridge used to be.

"That was close," Fox said quietly and the others nodded. Alex turned to Wolf, who was shakily standing up. "Thanks," Alex said breathlessly.

Wolf nodded and held out his hand; Alex took the offered hand and stood.

"You okay?" Snake asked as he eyed Alex. The teen in return nodded and wiped the slight sheen of sweat of his face with his arm.

Snake grabbed his damaged hand and studied it before grabbing the other hand.

"These don't look okay to me," Snake said with a raised eyebrow.

Alex looked at his bloody hands. They were full of splinters, and the torn skin under his fingernails was bleeding. The teen tried to pull his hands back. Firmly, but gently Snake resisted.

"I can pull these out now," he said as he ran his finger lightly over the biggest splinters.

"But the smaller ones will have to wait until I have a needle or something else small and sharp," Snake said and he then dropped Alex's hands.

"I can get them out," Alex mumbled and Snake grinned at him. "I'm sure you could but I'd rather do it. You have to be careful or you'll just cause more damage." Alex looked away towards the other men.

"Now how are we going to get back across?" Eagle asked as he stared glumly at the river.

"We walk," Wolf said shortly. "Let's hurry up and get what we came for; it might be a while till we get back to the house."

They found the creek easily. Eagerly, Eagle kneeled and cupped some of the water in his hands before drinking it. "Mhhh," he moaned and Alex laughed at him.

Alex kneeled down the creek some so that he was away from the others drinking water and started to wash the blood of his hands. The flowing water turned pink before it flowed away toward the river.

His hands hurt something horrible but Alex rubbed the blood out of his skin ruthlessly.

Alex heard one of the men approaching him. The teen was sure that it was Snake by the light footsteps. Sure enough, Snake spoke. "Here," he said and Alex turned to see him holding out a canteen.

The weight of the canteen proved that it was full as Alex took it. "It's water," Snake said. "You don't want to drink out of your hands since they're injured."

Alex nodded and thanked the man before drinking greedily. His parched mouth begged for more even after Alex had emptied the canteen and the teen moved up the creek to fill it. After filling all the water containers they had and packing them into the two backpacks, they were ready to start back.

Wolf put on one of the backpacks and Fox picked up the other. "We'll switch them around so nobody get's let out," said Wolf with a grin. A few minutes later Eagle spoke. "So, we just keep walking," Eagle drawled out. Wolf nodded and Eagle sighed sadly, making Alex and Fox grin.

Alex watched his feet as he walked, there were ferns, leaves and rotting remains of trees everywhere. _Vicious little creatures could be anywhere just waiting for the chance to jump on someone, _Alex thought, rather dramatically.

He looked around suspiciously for the said creatures. Just because they had teased Eagle unmercilessly about snakes did not mean there weren't some around. Alex wondered if there was a reason that Eagle did not like snakes. _Maybe he has a bad past with them? _Alex thought curiously as he glanced at Eagle who was almost skipping beside him. The man looked unworried, fancy free and totally unaware of Alex scrutinizing him.

Wolf was leading them, looking sure of himself as he walked up the river with the rest of the K Unit following behind him.

Alex hoped that Wolf really knew where he was going and was not acting. The teen did not want to get lost in the forest with these men. Eagle seemed like the type that would put spiders down others' shirts.

"How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?" Eagle asked unexpectedly his eyebrows furrowed with thought. Alex stopped walking to stare at Eagle and Wolf sighed.

"I knew the silence was too good to last," the man mumbled and Alex snickered at both Eagles question and Wolf's response.

Nobody bothered to anwser Eagle's question, but the man did not seem to mind, as he was humming. Alex bit his lip and Wolf shoulders seemed to stiffen at the toneless humming.

Snake and Fox seemed to be enjoying themselves, if their snickering was anything to go by. "Poor Wolfman," Fox muttered as he moved closer to Alex. Then Eagle started whistling and Alex had to bite his lip to keep from bursting out in laughter.

Wolf's slow torture lasted a few minutes longer until the man spun around with a dangerous glint in his dark eyes. Eagle's whistle died on his lips as he stared wide eyed at Wolf, who turned and marched of.

"Surprised me that he lasted that long," Snake said to both Fox and Alex who nodded in agreement.

Later Wolf found a way across the river. There was a spot in the river where the water was not as deep and huge rocks stuck up out of the water, making perfect stepping stones.

They did not have to discuss whether to go across or not. The sun would be setting within the hour and none of them wanted to sleep in the forest with an empty stomach to top it of.

Wolf, as the leader, headed across first with one of the backpacks full of water. The leader reached the other side and Eagle clapped, making Wolf glare from the other side of the river.

"It's a bit slippery but that's all you need to worry about," Wolf called as Fox headed over. After Fox was over, Eagle started across. Eagle jumped from each large stone and took a bow when he made it across. Wolf ignored the man and motioned for Alex to come across.

Alex started across and did not like the feel of water around his feet. A few of the stones were slippery like Wolf had said but Alex made it across fine. When Snake joined them a minute later, Wolf and Fox took of their backpacks to let someone else carry the weight.

Not wanting to appear lazy, Alex grabbed one of the backpacks and carefully slung it onto his back. Alex ignored the pain in his hands and the studying look Wolf and the others gave him as he tightened the straps.

The K Unit was now talking about directions and Alex decided to hang back until they came to an agreement.

When they had reached a consensus, Alex followed them silently as they set off. The teen hoped that maybe, _just _maybe, they could make it back to the house before it got dark.

…_Or before I throttle Eagle, _Alex thought as the man, with a wicked grin on his face, started whistling another song.

**A\N: **Yes, I know that you want to hear about Alex's file but I'm already half way through with chapter five so don't worry. You will hear about it soon. Wow, 80 reviews for three chapters!!

Now it's time to thank the people that made that possible, put your hands together for--**Foxhead: **Thank you I'm glad you like it! **Jusmine: **I'm sorry! It will happen soon. **BellaBooTwilight: **Thank you I hope you enjoyed this one as well! **TanyaPotter: **Next chapter and thanks for the review! **Mizu1411, Mad Mogg: **Thank you I like my plot too, lol, **Enda: **Thanks for the suggestion I'll consider it! **Gold is Power, Hails: **Thanks, I'll fix those, I wondered what would be different in the UK. Thanks for the grwat review! **Ljus: **Thank you for the review! **Silvertornado: **Thank you for the review! **Illusjon: **(Smile) If people did not give conscrutive critism my this story would suck so thanks! I'll try to keep Alex in character but this is just how I imagine him. **HamkEye DownUnder, Rasgara: **Thanks for the review!

**SonyaPhantom, AD: **Thank you for your review AD!! **Skyrider, Jossi-kun, Lady Shadow Of Time, Mystery Girl: **Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed! A PM is a private message, if you want to talk to an author you go to their profile page and theres a button that say's (Send Message). That's a PM. I'll update soon and thanks for reviewing!

**Carsinya: **Thank you very much! **The Wall, **Thank's! **……: **Thank you for you honesty. If I do start another story I'll make sure I have back up chapters first, lol. Thank you for your review! **Rei Tamashii, mOOnlight-duskk, Aimed mischief, Shini, Sweetdesserts, Oliveoil889, Kaisaan, **LOl, Thank you, I'm glad you thought it was funny.

**Keatlin: **Thanks for the making my 80th review!! I'll get started on that other AR fic, if I can figure out what idea to go with…

Smelly Cat


	5. Chapter 5

It was at least half an hour before the K Unit found the path that led back to the run down house.

Alex's stomach was aching from hunger and the teen just hoped for his sake, that it would not complain out loud. Wolf would tease him mercilessly if that happened and Alex did not want that. The man had gotten better as far as his attitude towards to teen went, and Alex hoped it would stay that way.

"No one has a flashlight, do they?" Wolf asked almost worriedly as he glanced at the setting sun. They had doubled their walking speed but the sun was beating them in its descent.

"Look's like were in for a night time walk, folks," Eagle said, but he did not seem sad about that fact. Wolf, on the other hand, was not as acceptant if the growled, "Yippee," was anything to go by.

Fox and Alex grinned at each other behind the man's back. Then a shot of pain going through Alex's hand made the teen frown. _I can't wait to get theses things out_, Alex thought as he stared down at his wounded hands.

Silently, Snake came up behind the walking teen.

"Don't worry, we'll be there soon and then I can clean them up," the blond man said reassuringly. Alex nodded.

Alex shifted the backpack so that it was not pressing into his shoulder blades so painfully. He had carried heavier backpacks before. When he was at Brecon Beacons carrying heavy weights with you was part of the training. But Alex was tired and hungry and the constant weight on his back was becoming annoying.

The teen told himself that he would not complain in any circumstances. Complaining would get him nothing but mocking jeers from the K Unit members. So Alex voiced no complaints throughout the walk back.

…………………..

Alex sighed with relief when he finally spotted the house. It had taken awhile but they were finally back.

"I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I'm happy to see that run down shack," Alex said and Fox grinned amusedly. "Miracles do happen, Cub," Fox said and Alex laughed while Snake smiled.

"Home sweet home," Eagle said in a sing song voice. Behind Eagle, Wolf was mocking him by pretending to stick his finger down his throat.

Alex knew that the man had to be in good spirits to actually play around like that. _As long as he stays like that_, Alex thought warily.

They entered the house eager to dispose of there extra burdens. Eagle discovered that the electricity was back on and flipped the lights on and off to demonstrate his finding. Alex made straight for the kitchen and noticed as soon as he turned on the light that someone had been in there before them.

There was a box full of item on the counter and the floor looked like it had been swept and mopped. Alex realized with faint surprise that the floor pattern was not brown like he had first thought but a pretty forest green. The cobwebs that had been in the corners before were gone and there was not a roach in sight.

Eagle entered the kitchen and let out a long whistle of surprise. "Were moving on up, aren't we, Cub," the man said delightedly. Alex did not have time to answer as the man spotted the food box and literally pushed past Alex to get to it.

Alex just rolled his eyes and carefully took the heavy backpack off to set in on the floor.

The teen stretched his aching back and watched as Eagle took out bread, more peanut butter, jam, potatoes, and a few miscellaneous items.

But the man did not stop there. He moved toward the fridge and after opening it let out a strangled yell. Confused at the excited look on the man face and the little dance he was doing, Alex moved forward.

Standing in front of the fridge, Alex stared. The now clean and bright fridge held food that made Alex's mouth water just looking at it. Thick cuts of steak, chicken, and fish made Alex understand why Eagle was so happy.

There were also vegetables, fruits and other food products that Alex did not pay much attention to.

"What is it?" Wolf's voice asked from behind. Alex and Eagle turned to see that now all of the K Unit was in the kitchen.

"Meat's back on the menu boys!" Eagle said in excitement and he threw up his arms in victory.

"Eagle, for the last time, we are not eating Cub," said Fox patiently with a grin on his face. Alex shot the man a glare to which the man responded, "What? Do you want us to eat you?"

Alex rolled his eyes and threw his arms in the air, unconsciously mocking Eagle.

"Look," Eagle commanded and Fox gasped theatrically at the clear bag full of steak that Eagle held in his hands.

"No more--peanut butter?" Wolf asked slowly and he made a face when he mentioned the dreaded peanut butter. Alex could understand the man's wariness. The teen himself was tired of his mouth being stuck together at every meal.

From beside the table Snake held up the new jar of peanut butter and Wolf sneered.

"Why did they bring us another jar of that?" The man asked incredulously.

"They want to torture you Wolf-man," Eagle jibed from his place by the fridge.

Wolf grumbled unintelligibly and Alex smiled as he took out the water bottles from the backpack.

"Fox," Wolf said in a commanding voice and Alex saw Fox straiten slightly at the tone.

"You know how to cook a little right?" Fox nodded and a suspicious look came over his features. "Good," Wolf continued, "fix something to eat; Snake you fix Cub's hands up before they become infected and Eagle help Fox."

The K Unit besides Wolf shared looks. Wolf liked being in charge--he always had, that much was for sure.

"What are you going to do as we slave away, Wolf-man?" Eagle asked with a mock-stern look on his features.

"I'm going to scout the premises," Wolf said with narrowed eyes. "You don't have a problem with that, do you, Eagle?" His raised eyebrow and fake curious expression made had Eagle shaking his head.

Wolf left the room with a pleased smile on his face. "Control freak," Eagle muttered as soon as he was sure that the man was out of hearing distance.

Alex grinned and followed Snake as the man gestured him out of the room.

Snake led Alex to the bathroom and told the teen to sit on the closed toilet lid. The bath was right across from the toilet. After gathering the small trash bin, a pair of tweezers and a needle, Snake sat on the tub rim right across from Alex.

Without speaking Alex held out his right hand and the man took it without speaking or looking at the team. Snake was totally immersed in his job of removing the splinters from Alex's hand.

The largest fragment of wood came out easily but painfully. Alex's face did not show his discomfort; the teen knew that the smaller bits would have to be dug out of his skin and that would be a lot more painful.

The skin around the splinters had started to seal because of the hours Alex had waited to get the pieces removed from his skin.

As the splinters came out the skin broke again and started to bleed. When the blond-haired man was done with removing the large splinters, he moved onto the smaller ones after glancing at Alex with a searching expression.

The man must have found what he was looking for because he moved onto the smaller wounds without speaking.

Alex's creased forehead was the only thing that showed his pain as Snake used his needle to try and dig the smallest splinter out.

The teen glanced around the small bathroom for something to take his mind of the pain and the need to yank his hand out of Snake's firm grasp.

The Scottish man must have sensed the teens alarm because he started to speak. His voice gave Alex something to listen to instead of concentrating on the pain.

"I thought Eagle was going to do something crazy when he saw you hanging from that bridge," Snake said and Alex stared at him.

"Eagle?" Alex asked in disbelief. The immature man did not strike Alex as somebody who jumped into action but Snake was nodding.

"When he's actually being serious, he is very good at what he does," Snake said as he pulled out another splinter. Alex held back a wince and asked, "When is Eagle ever serious?"

The man smiled at Alex before bending his head back over Alex's hand. "When the situation calls for it you would be surprised," the man said and fell silent to let Alex think that over.

_I don't know these men very well, anything's possible I guess_, Alex thought.

Wolf could have a beloved teddy bear he hides under his pillow. Alex bit his lip at the thought. If I ever want to be brutally murdered I'll ask him.

Soon Snake was done pulling out all the bits of woof and he held the teen hand over the sink to pour peroxide over it. The cold liquid fizzled loudly as it hit the wounds and Alex's hand burnt.

When Snake was done he wrapped Alex's hand in gauze. "Is all this necessary?" Alex asked as he flexed his hand.

Snake nodded, "I don't want you to get an infection, and the wrappings can come off in a couple of days." Alex nodded and somewhat warily handed Snake his left hand.

The man repeated the same process as he had for Alex's right hand.

When Snake was done and had both of the teen's hands wrapped, he gestured for Alex to leave the bathroom. Alex followed the man into the kitchen where delicious smells assaulted his nose. Alex was just about to beg when Fox anounced, "Dinner is served!"

Eagle let lose a hearty cheer and Alex almost joined in. Wolf appeared next to the counter like he had been beamed there by a passing spaceship and without pause he started to fix his plate.

Alex's plate had on it one huge baked potatoe and a thick piece of steak, just like everyone else's plate.

"Where's the ketchup?" Wolf growled looking around at the rest of the K Unit like they had taken it from him. "There mighty not be--" Fox started to say when Eagle cut him of.

"It's in the fridge," he said almost inaudible by the amount of food in his mouth.

Wolf grimaced at the sight. "Thanks…I think," he muttered as he headed for the refrigerator. Alex grinned as he cut up his steak.

After dinner they moved toward the dusty living room. Alex sat in the same place he had the night before and Wolf plopped down across from the teen. Eagle had brought his glass of water from the kitchen in with him and he took a sip before placing it on the small table between the two couches.

"I was sure I'd be exhausted but now I'm too full to sleep," Snake said amusedly.

"We could do the job Jones gave us," Eagle suggested as he sat next to Alex.

"Blagh," Wolf said in distaste at the idea.

"Fine," Eagle said, "What do you wanna do Wolfman?"

Wolf leaned forward to reach underneath the couch cushion he sat next to.

"You want to look for loose change?" Alex said with a raised eyebrow. Eagle snorted as Wolf paused to glare at Alex.

Alex gave the man his most innocent expression in return and Wolf increased the strength of his glare. "No, I want to look at this," Wolf said with an evil smile as he pulled out a file out from under the couch cushion.

Alex froze on the outside but his brain was racing. _Please tell me that isn't what I think it is,_ the teen thought shakily.

"Why would you want to look at that?" Alex asked as picked at a piece of lint of his shirt and tried to act unconcerned.

The others members were waiting with different expressions on their faces. Fox was curious but trying not to look so and failing terribly. Snake looked cool and composed while Eagle was practically jumping up and down.

_But that's how he always is_, Alex thought amusedly.

"I'm naturally curious, Cub," Wolf said and then did something unexpected. He tossed Alex another file that the teen had not noticed.

Alex caught it, surprise and suspicion written all over his face. The teen looked at the tab of the file and read the name there. Matthew Conner? Alex tried to digest what Wolf's real name was as he stared at the file.

Eagle peered down at the file with interest an Alex glanced at him before opening the file. The teen could nod deny his own curiosity about the gruff man and after all, Wolf had literally thrown the file to him. He was not going to pass up the opportunity to learn more about Wolf even if it cost him a little. Alex eagerly read what the file held.

"Physical description/attributes

Full name: Matthew John Conner. Subject is six feet, two inches tall. Weight: 245 pounds and muscular. Age: 24. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Brown"

Alex was skipping through the physical attributes when Wolf interrupted him.

"Girlfriend?" Wolf asked waving a picture of a smiling Sabina Pleasure in the air.

The blond teen frowned and answered with a short, "No," before he went back to Wolf's file. He was not going to give long answers if he could help it.

"Conner is temperamental at times but he is also a natural leader. His physical condition is excellent but may have been effected by recent injuries."

Alex winced slightly remembering that he was the one who had gotten Wolf hurt twice.

The teen glanced over at the man still reading his file with his eyebrows furrowed and was surprised to see Snake and Fox reading over his shoulder.

_Seems like Wolf's not the only one who's curious_, Alex thought.

"You shot the prime minister?" Wolf's voice was sarcastic and surprised as he gazed at the annoyed teen with raised eyebrows.

Alex looked away. "It was an accident," he muttered. Eagle burst into gales of laughter and even Wolf looked amused. "It wasn't funny," Alex growled and Eagle let out cackles of mirth that started Fox laughing.

"It's surprising to me that M16 actually gave you a gun on your first mission. I wouldn't have given a teen a gun," Wolf said as he shook his head. Alex frowned at him but replied, "They didn't give me a gun."

Wolf lifted his head from the file the other members on the K Unit following his exact movements. Wolf raised an eyebrow in an obvious question pose.

"I took it from another guy before that happened. M16 didn't want to give me a gun," Alex said.

Wolf nodded but Fox frowned, "They did give you something to protect yourself--right?" Fox's question had three other pairs of eyes on Alex annoyed ones.

"They gave me a yo-yo, zit cream and a Nintendo Game Boy," said Alex without emotion and a straight face. The men just stared at him in bemusement and Alex stared back.

Then realization appeared on Fox's face and he laughed while Alex said nothing.

_Fox has probably met Smithers and the other men haven't_, Alex thought. That's why Wolf, Snake and Eagle were still looking confused.

Alex's thoughts were confirmed when Fox sat up and started talking to the other men.

"Alex's talking about some gadgets that he was provided with," Fox said with a slight smile on his face.

Wolf nodded and asked, "What did they do?"

Alex sat back against the couch and placed Wolf's file beside him with his hand over it protectively.

"The Nintendo was a fax and photocopier, X-ray device with audio, bug finder and smoke bomb," Alex said in one breath.

Wolf actually looked slightly impressed. "Next time I'm going to ask for a toy," he muttered and Alex grinned.

"What did the yo-yo do?" Eagle asked curiously with his eyes on the ceiling.

"It had a thirty-foot nylon cord that could pull up to two hundred pounds," Alex said, "And when the zit cream came into contact with metal it burned holes in it."

Snake leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. "Did you ever use any of those?" The blond haired man asked interestedly.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I used them all at one time or another," he said.

The men just kept staring at Alex waiting for him to go on and the teen sighed.

"I used the Nintendo to listen in to a conversation and send a fax to M16 headquarters," Alex said. Eagle smiled slyly. "I want to know what you used to zit cream for," he said with a laugh and Fox nodded in agreement.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Patience children," the teen said teasingly then ducked the pillow that Fox sent his way.

"I got found out and put in a gigantic fish tank with--" Alex cut himself off and stood.

"It's getting late we should go to bed," Alex said with an evil glint in his eyes. "Sit," Wolf growled out and Eagle yanked the teen back down by the back of his shirt.

Alex snickered as the K Unit waited impatiently for him to continue.

"I was put in the tank with a man-of-war jellyfish," Alex said.

Snake said, "The man must have been nuts to keep that thing as a pet."

The teen nodded. "He was rather loony." Alex shook his head. "He told me it reminded him of him," the teen said with a suppressed grin.

"And you said…?" Snake asked slowly with the corners of his mouth uplifted and Eagle took another sip from his glass.

"That it's ninety-nine percent water. It has no brains, no guts, and no anus," said the teen with a straight face. Eagle sputtered on his water as he laughed and Alex scooted away from him with a smile.

"Did you want an early death?" Wolf asked as he watched Eagle with a grin and Alex shook his head.

"So you used the zit cream to--what?" Eagle asked as he recovered.

"There were iron girders that fitted around the corners on both the inside and the outside of the glass and the metal faces held together by a series of rivets." Alex paused to take a breath while Eagle looked down at his wet shirt. "I rubbed the cream on a few of the rivets and the tank busted open," Alex finished.

Eagle sat forward and said in an old woman's voice as he shook his finger, "Now what's the moral of this story?"

"Stay away from Cub, he draws madmen like flies to a horses butt," Fox said with a serious nod. Alex moaned and buried his head in his hands while Eagle and Fox chuckled.

Alex stood up and said jokingly, "You guys are too immature for my company, I'm going to bed."

"Night night, don't wet the bed," Wolf called after him.

"It's not me you need to worry about," Alex called back before running up the stairs.

"Who's he mean?" Eagle asked from the bottom of the stairs and Alex laughed before opening his bedroom door.

He slept well that night with a full stomach and his worries forgotten.

**A/N: **I'm working on two other AR stories and three new Harry Potter stories. (Squeals excitedly) Please check the AR fics. One should be posted in about a couple of weeks. Time to thank the reviewers!

**Illusjon: **I actually already had chapter four complete when I posted chapter three but I was waiting to get it back from my beta. My updates might slow a little I'm sorry to say. Thanks for your review! **PsychoWing, mOOlight-duskk, **Nope, Alex's hurting hand is just that, a hurting hand, lol. Thanks for the review! **Aimed mischief, Rasgara, highonDr.Pepper, **Thank you!, **Mizu1411, **I'm glad you like angst. Because I'm a angst lover myself and thee will be bunches of it later in this story. **Gold is power, Lake25, **Wolf must be mean to Alex every once in a while, lol. Because I just can't see this, "Cub! Give me a hug!" (shivers). **Myboylollipop, **Thanks for all your reviews! **Jusmine, Hails, **I know, splinters are horrible. Thanks for reviewing! **Katie, **I don't have an excuse, lets just say aliens did it, lol. Thanks for pointing that out, I'm going to bang my head against something hard now. **Enda, **(Wince) Sorry about the that. **BellaBooTwilight, **Thank you! **HawkEye DownUnder, tennischick09, oirishgoddess, Sheweapon1, Lady Shadow Of Time, Annie Nomous, **Thanks! I'm glad you think so! **Mystery Girl, **Lol, My brothers think I'm crazy because I laugh out loud when I read on my laptop…and sometimes I cry if I'm reading something really angst, lol. Thanks for your review on this story and Come What May! **ThJaFl, Kaisaan, **Thank you so much for your review! **Keatlin, **Yes, it took them the whole day to go to the creek and back, it would not of taken so long but the bridge collapsed and they had to find another way across the river. **Destinystar105, **(blushes) Thank you! **Rei Tamashii, **There will be no Yassen is this story but I'm writing one with him in it. **Hylian-dragoness, Rose-Aislin, 00mrdragon00, fayiaryuu, and TGIF but only onces a week.**


	6. Chapter 6

Alex woke suddenly in the middle of the night. For a moment he wondered why, but then he realized that a rat was crawling over his foot. The blond teen kicked his feet wildly and sent the rat flying. With a deep breath Alex sat up and watched as the rat scuttled behind the dresser.

A chill crept through Alex bones at the thought of rats crawling over him in his sleep.

_Disgusting,_ Alex thought as he got out of his makeshift bed that lay on the floor.

Knowing that there was no way he was going to be able to go back to sleep now, Alex got dressed. Even though it was still dark outside, Alex did not feel tired anymore.

He had slept in the clothes he had worn all day, only taking of his shoes. But since there was no shower that had clean water, Alex had not had a bath in days. And you can tell it, Alex thought dryly as he warily smelled his shirt when he took it off.

Rummaging in the suitcase, Alex found a fresh t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of socks. After pulling on his clothes, Alex walked downstairs and went immediately to the couch where Wolf had sat last night.

The teen could not believe he had left his file downstairs when he had went to bed. It was bad enough that Wolf had found where Alex had hid it in the first place. But leaving it where the entire K Unit could read it was like asking them to read it.

Alex had been very surprised to see his file in Wolf's hands, but after thinking it over he understood how the man had gotten it. When Wolf had gone to search the premises, he must have snuck up to Alex's room and found the file.

Alex smirked. _I'll have to do something to Wolf now. If I don't he'll think he can just walk all over me_.

Sitting on the middle cushion of the couch was Alex's file. Happily, the teen gathered it up and turned to put it back in his room. There, Alex decided to hide it in his suitcase. Perhaps the K Unit would not go searching in there if they thought they might come across a pair of underwear.

Alex bit his lip to keep from laughing and made his way silently back down the stairs.

In the kitchen Alex searched for something to eat. A wall clock informed him that it was a little past six in the morning. That was not very early to the K Unit, so Alex brought out the necessary stuff to make a breakfast. He was not about to eat another peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, especially when he had the ingredients to make a good breakfast.

Alex opened the fridge and fetched out the eggs and bacon to place them on the counter.

Next the teen went to the box of produce to search for potatoes. There was a five pound bag and Alex grabbed a handful.

Alex knew he was pushing it, but he looked in the fridge again and was surprised to find a bell pepper and an onion. A pleased smile spread across the teens face. This was going to be a good meal.

It was peaceful in the kitchen since the rest of the K Unit was still asleep, but Alex was perfectly fine with that. Wolf was not there to scrutinize him and Eagle was not bouncing around like a kangaroo with a stomach full of energy drink.

The blond did not mind Snake and Fox as much as the other two members of the K Unit.

Alex peeled the potatoes quickly and expertly. He had cooked for Jack sometimes since she hated cooking. In return Jack had taught him how to make his way around the kitchen.

The teen had been slightly surprised to find that Jack was a good cook and she knew what she was doing. She just hates to cook, Alex thought with a slightly sad smile.

_I wonder what she's doing right now,_ the teen thought as he stared at the half peeled potato.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Alex went back to preparing breakfast. After the potatoes were peeled and chopped the teen found some oil and a pan. Alex washed the pan using the water from the creek and a large amount of soap; he did not want to cook his food in a pan where cockroaches slept. After the potatoes were on the stove, Alex started on the eggs.

In a bowl he mixed some cheese in with the eggs before he scrambled them with a whisk. After putting the eggs in a pan Alex pulled out another pan and, like all the other pans, he washed it. When the bacon started sizzling, the teen started to chop the bell pepper and onion.

About five minutes later the smells filling the kitchen were making Alex's mouth water; the teen was fighting the urge to just eat out of the pots.

The blond only barely remembered to fetch five plates from the cabinet and place them on the table before he turned of the stove and started to fix his plate.

Less then a minute, later the sound of someone coming down the stairs made Alex look up from his half-full plate reluctantly. Fox stood in the doorway of the kitchen neatly dressed and looking at the food on the table with a surprised expression. "You can cook," he stated.

Alex shrugged in response and took another bite of his fried potatoes. More footsteps sounded from the living room and Fox moved out of the way to show a sleepy-looking Eagle still in his pajamas.

Snake appeared right behind him and pushed him lightly to make him step into the kitchen. The Scottish man looked over the food and then grabbed a plate from the table without comment.

Wolf entered the kitchen also fully dressed, "Watch it Eagle, you're drooling," the man said without any burn, Eagle ignored him.

"You made all this?" Fox said as he sat across from Alex at the table, the teen just nodded and covered a yawn with his hand. The way he had been eating was depriving him from oxygen.

For several minutes the K Unit sat silently at the table as they ate. Alex was done first and he went over to the sink where the creek water was sitting to wash his used dish.

"I'll do that," Fox said as the teen started to wash the plate. "You did the cooking so I'll clean up." Alex paused before pulling back his hand back from the dish soap and placing his plate in the sink. "Thanks Fox," he said.

Fox just nodded as he scraped the last few bits of food on his plate with his finger. "It was good, Cub. Thanks," Eagle said as he patted his stomach. Alex mumbled thanks and left the room to head outside.

The teen walked slowly down the dirt road leading to the road. He had nothing else to do, no homework to catch up on, no friends to talk to, there wasn't even a bad guy he could fight out here.

_But isn't this kind of what I want?_ The sudden thought made Alex stop walking. He wanted M16 to leave him alone so he could lead a normal life--didn't he?

A normal life with no constant danger. Alex nodded to himself and kept walking. But I'm not always in danger, just when I mess around with dangerous people like Scorpia, Alex thought.

Could he really stop spying even if M16 left him alone? It was in his blood to spy. His father and Ian had both been spies. Alex enjoyed spying--that is, he enjoyed it when he was not fighting for his life.

With these confusing thoughts, Alex turned to go back to the house.

……………………………….

The blond teen entered the living room door to find the K Unit sitting around a TV set with a tape player sitting on the top of the set.

Wolf turned to Alex who was still standing in the doorway staring at the box of video's sitting beside the TV.

"You're here just in time; we were about to start without you," Wolf said and Alex moved into the room cautiously.

"I'm going to see my face on the big screen," Eagle said with a grin and Fox rolled his eyes. Alex came closer just as the tape started to play. "Be quiet," Snake said as he sat back against the front of the couch. The blond teen sat down on the arm of the couch as he watched the scene on the video appear.

The picture was slightly blurry and Alex squinted at the screen. The camera finally came into focus just as Eagle appeared by diving in the way of the camera.

"My first TV appearance," Eagle said in a fond voice. A second later the sound of a gun going off and a lot of shooting sounded from the video. Then the screen went blank leaving the K Unit staring at it.

"Well--that stank," Wolf said and Eagle pouted while crossing his arms. Fox laughed. "Surely M16 won't need that. I say trash it," he said while digging in the box for another video.

"Oh, let's watch this one!" Eagle said as he pulled out a video and waved it in the air. "This one features Alex Rider, aka Cub, in Teen Spy Extraordinaire."

Wolf burst into laughter and Alex could not help the grin that came over his face. "That sound good," Fox said and Eagle put the tape in.

"As long as it's not a cheap film," Snake said with a smirk.

"I don't star in cheap films," Alex said with a haughty look and a sniff, though inside he was nervous as to what the K Unit would see.

Eagle laughed just before Wolf shushed him as the video started to play.

The camera was attached to the ceiling looking down. There were torches lining stone walls, casting a yellow light over everything. There were four men standing in the middle of the room all dressed as monsters. "Wha--" Wolf tried to say but as a stumbling figure entered the vision of the camera. he froze.

Alex knew where the video had come from and he smiled behind his hand. The K Unit was staring at the screen where a half naked and very bloody Alex Rider was now falling to his knees. There was a spear sticking out of his chest and he looked horrible.

Alex was opening and shutting his mouth but no sound came out. The teen pointed limply at the spear before his hand fell and the teen collapsed and his eyes flickered closed. He did not move again.

After that, one of the guards relaxed and took out a radio out of his pocket and spoke Dutch into it. The guards came around the fallen teen; they spoke for a minute before leaving the room through a concealed door.

The K Unit did not move their eyes away from the screen and Alex was feeling amused.

No one else could tell because of the camera's position, but Alex knew that right about now he would be opening his eyes. For a few minutes the teen lay still. Alex remembered himself almost being ashamed of the trick he had played.

He wondered what his unit would think of it. On the screen Alex sat up from the floor and was untying the spear from around his bare torso. The teen stood up, walked out the same way the guards had and the video ended.

"Where did you get all that blood from?" Fox asked first and Eagle took out the video while listening intently.

"Well, there was this anaconda--" Alex stopped talking to laugh at their expressions. The K Unit looked dumfounded and Eagle's eyes had widened at the mention of a snake. Wolf narrowed his eyes, "Funny, Cub, now what is the truth?"

"That is truth Wolf," Alex said with force, but Wolf just raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. "Fine, don't believe me," the blond teen said uncaringly and Fox snickered as he looked for another good video.

"Cub's was pretty good, although I'm surprised that they actually fell for that," Snake said with a chuckle.

Wolf nodded and Fox pulled out another tape and put it in the tape player sitting on top of the TV.

The first video had not been bad and Alex was feeling less uneasy then he had been earlier. Maybe this won't be so bad, he thought as he leaned back against the couch.

They watched a video of Wolf beating up a man who tried to take his wallet, which Eagle laughed at. There was one where Snake pushed a woman out of the way of a car and Fox fluttered his eyelashes and said, "You're my hero," in a high voice. Snake punched him firmly and put another tape in the tape player, scowling the whole time.

The scene from the camera was clear but the sky was gray, making everything look darker than it was. This camera, like all the others, did not have sound. The lense of the camera was directed at a harbor and the sea could be seen on the rim of the camera's view. But their attention was not directed towards the sea, but the action happening on a quay.

On top of the waterside platform were two figures. One stood and the other kneeled. Even from a distance, the K Unit could see how tired they both looked. The taller figure's left hand hung uselessly. He had a large blood stain on his side but in his other he held a gun. In between the two was a large bomb. Alex had been kneeling in front of the bomb, but know he stood slowly to face Sarov.

The teen spoke and Alex remembered what he said. The K Unit watched silently as Sarov shook his head. The man spoke before he raised his gun aimed at the teen. Sarov spoke again as he swayed slightly and Alex held up his hand.

In his hand he held a card. The one that would restart the bomb, Alex thought. And then the teen flicked the card. It spun in the air and dropped into the water.

Alex on the video spoke again and Sarov looked from the place where his card had dropped into the water to where the blond teen stood.

He whispered something and it was easy to read his lips as he asked, "Why?"

The teen spoke, Sarov said three words and a second later Sarov raised his gun--to his own heart. Wolf swore in surprise and looked away quickly from the screen.

Alex had known what was going to happen and he looked down before Sarov had shot himself. But Fox, Snake and Eagle saw Sarov shoot himself and how Alex on the tape had looked away. They also saw the spray of blood that hit Alex's chest and tortured face right before Sarov collapsed to the ground dead.

The video ended but no one moved forward to eject it, the K Unit was staring at Alex and the teen did not know what to do. A few moments later Wolf cleared his throat and the other men stopped staring at Alex to dig through the video box or in Snakes case mutter something about needing to go to the bathroom.

"This one is just titled 'Scorpia,'" Eagle said as Snake made his retreat into the bathroom. Eagle started the tape and Fox said, "We really need some popcorn for this or something."

Snake came back and jumped over the back of the couch the land next to Alex. The teen grinned at the Scottish man before looking at the TV. This time the camera showed a hallway leading to a half lit room. Alex recognized it and immediately felt sick.

Without thinking he stood. "This one sucks. I want to another video of one of you guys." His voice was almost steady, but not enough to fool Wolf. The leader of K Unit stared at him suspiciously. "Why don't you want to watch this one?" he asked slowly.

Alex could not come up with a reason why, besides telling them straight out, and there was no way he was going to do that. After shooting him another look, Wolf turned back to the TV.

All the teen could do was watch as he entered the hallway, shut the door and looked around the room. None of the K Unit had noticed the gun in his hand yet but Alex knew it would only be a matter of time.

In the video Alex was at Mrs. Jones's house, and he was coming to kill her.

**A/N: **Ok, first of all chapter five being underlined was not done on purpose. does that to all my documents now for some reason and if I don't fix the document before I post it, it's all underlined and in italics. I of course forgot to fix it, lol. Thanks for pointing it out everyone! Second there is a MAJOR fight in the next chapter so stick around! Time to thank the reviewers!

**MOOnligh-duskk, Jusmine, **Lol, I'm glad you liked that line! **Aimed mischief, Tanya Potter, Illusjon, **You're going to give me a fat head! Lol, thanks. **Psycho Wing, **Thanks for telling me the text was underlined, I did not know. I agree and I'm going to try and slow the relation ship between Alex and the K Unit down. **00mrdragon00, **No, why would you think that? (blinks innocently) Actually I just watched the LOTR series last weekend; I just had to quote it, lol. **sheluby94dreamer, Rasgara, Hails, **You are a lifesaver! Thanks **SO **much for pointing out those mistakes and in order at that! It was easy to find them and fix them, thanks again! **MinibooExtreme, Gold is Power, Kaisaan, **Thanks lol! Alex was just joking; so far none of the K Unit wet the bed, lol.

**JK Mafia, **Yep, you found me out, I'm a LOTR nut. **XsuicideXkittyX, Enda, **Alex was just joking when he mentioned wetting the bed, lol. **Oirishgoddess, **Lol! The first time I read it in the book I laughed so hard I cried. I posted another AR story and I'm working on two others. **Jake Caldefore, **Lol, glad you liked it! **Carsinya, **Thanks so much, lol! **SkyRider, Mystery gal, **The 8th chapter of Come What May is done now, I just have to post it. **AD a.k.a She Weapon, **(Clapps) I'm extremely glad that you thought it was (Extremely bloody brilliant!) Lol. **Kurleyhawk2, keatlin, Mizu1411, Rose-Aislin, Pischk, Draek dragonclaw, Lady Shadow Of Time, Annie Nomous, **This story has a plot that will unveil it's self in time, (evil laugh) Glad you enjoyed! **Silvertornado, oliveoil889, BelleBootwilight, digMist, myboylollipop, Sheshy, mystery gal, puretsubasa, **Nope, I won't give up on this story unless something horrible happens. **Alex-rider-girl, weaslette155, Bookflower. **


	7. Chapter 7

Alex took a shaky breath and stood again. He was not sure what he was going to do but if Wolf or any other members of the K Unit saw what he did on that tape, there was no telling what would happen.

Wolf sighed when he heard Alex stand from where he sat on the floor. "What's the matter with you?" he asked without diverting his eyes from the screen.

"Nothing--I-I'm going to the bathroom," Alex muttered incoherently. But Wolf turned and frowned at him, and when Alex went to make his way to the bathroom the team leader grabbed his ankle.

"Why don't you wait until this tape is over," he said, and Alex could tell by looking in his eyes that Wolf knew something was wrong. Alex also knew that there was no way he could get out of the room with Wolf holding onto his ankle as tightly as he was.

Alex knew that even if he had been able to leave the room they would just find him later. But maybe if he had some time to think about it he could have came up with a good explanation when they cornered him.

On the screen Mrs. Jones appeared dressed in a silk evening gown. Off the screen Wolf pulled Alex's ankle closer so that he did not have to reach so far.

The blond teen moved to sit back down with the other members of the K Unit glancing between him and the television confusedly or anxiously.

The Alex on the television was talking with Mrs. Jones now and even though Wolf was watching, he was also holding onto Alex's ankle. _Does he think I'm going to jump up and run away?_ Alex thought but even his thoughts seemed false and he was truly worried.

Then on the tape Alex brought up the gun towards Mrs. Jones. On the video, no one could see the wall of glass that separated the hallway from the room Jones was in.

At seeing the gun, Wolf tightened his hold on Alex's ankle. Fox drew in a sharp breath and Eagle stiffened. Alex would not have been surprised if the K Unit told him that they could hear his heart beating. It beat against his chest as he tried to calm down.

The blond teen jumped visibly when he pulled the trigger on the tape, the glass between the hallway cracked and Wolf let go of Alex's ankle and stood. On the tape men flooded into the hallway but before they had brought Alex onto the floor, Wolf jerkily paused the video. His finger hit the pause button hard enough to make the television and the tape player shake.

Wolf turned and towered over Alex, behind him the other members of the K Unit stood. Alex expected to hear Fox trying to calm Wolf down, but Fox's calming voice never came.

Alex glanced behind him to see Fox, Eagle, and Snake staring at him. Eagle was shocked, Fox was confused and slightly angry, and Snake looked wary of him. Alex did not like it one bit.

Wolf was staring at him, his hands curled into fists, his nostrils flaring and his breathing shorter then normal. It looked like the man was going to crack. The teen stood up slowly just in case he did need to run.

"You want to tell me what that was, Cub?" Wolf asked in a dangerously quiet voice and Alex did not move from where he was.

"I think you'd better tell me, because there is KNOW WAY I'm going to sleep in the same house with a--a murderer!" Wolf screamed and Alex could not but step back in fear and, surprisingly, hurt.

He backed into Fox before jumping away from him as well. "Wolf, I--" Alex tried to find the words to explain the situation to the man but they would not come.

"He obviously didn't kill her, Wolf," Eagle said quietly not sounding anything like his usual self.

"If he tried to kill one person, who's to say he hasn't tried to kill anyone else, Eagle!" Wolf exclaimed and Fox took a step towards Alex.

"Have you killed anyone else, Alex?" He asked in a soft but stern voice and Alex blinked and swallowed before nodding shakily. Fox sighed and looked away from Alex as he brushed a hand through his hand.

Alex felt that Fox was ashamed of him and it both confused and angered him. They had not even asked why he had killed those people; it was not fair in any way.

"Why--why do you care, anyway?" Alex asked and he gestured to the K Unit who stared at him. "It's none of your business so just leave me alone!"

Wolf walked toward Alex so that he had backed the teen up against the wall.

"Anything that happens in this unit is my business," he growled, and he poked his finger into Alex's chest to emphasize his point. Alex glared at him but did not speak; he did not know what to say to the man.

"Where did you learn to handle a gun anyway? You didn't learn that when you were at Brecon Beacons with us," Snake said with more suspicion than curiosity.

Alex had to speak because now the other members of the K Unit were waiting for his answer. But how could he tell them he learned from the people that were now trying to kill him?

They were waiting not so patiently. "Well, Cub?" Wolf asked with a scowl and a raised eyebrow.

Alex did not dare lie. He wanted to so badly, but he was sure that Wolf would see right through anything he came up with and then he would just be worse off.

"Scorpia--taught me," Alex muttered and the men stared at him.

"Come again?" Eagle said weakly and Wolf gaped at the teen.

"What?" he said incredulously. The uncomfortable teen crossed his arms and looked at his feet as he waited for Wolf to blow.

He did not have to wait long. "Explain," Wolf growled and Alex looked around the room, wanting to rest his eyes on anything but the men who were still watching him.

"I--I went and found Scorpia and--" Alex quit talking; he did not know if he could go on and tell the men. He really needed to explain the entire situation. It looked worse then it was if it was not explained fully.

He was about to ask if he could start over but Snake spoke before he could, "You asked them to train you or something like that?" the blond man asked slowly with a disapproving look on his face.

"Kinda," Alex answered quietly.

Wolf was shaking his head. "I thought you were smarter than that," he said with a sigh. "Seriously," he muttered. "Who's stupid enough to go and seek out a deadly organization like Scorpia?"

The brown-haired man turned back to Alex and pointed at him. "Bingo!" He exclaimed and Alex stared at him with incredulous eyes while the rest of the K Unit watched. "They could have killed you and yet you're arrogant enough to think that they won't hurt you! You're a stupid little kid, Alex. All you're doing is causing problems!"

"Just shut up!" Alex yelled at him and Wolf snarled at him while clenching his fists. "You weren't there and you don't know the circumstances so just shut up," the last two words were hissed in Wolf's face by the furious teen.

Wolf drew back his hand and slapped Alex hard across the face. The force behind the slap made Alex stumble back and he stared at Wolf in surprise. Almost unconsciously Alex brought his hand up and felt his aching cheek. Wolf was staring at him and breathing heavily.

The whole house seemed extremely quiet before Wolf spun on his foot, shoved his way past the rest of the K Unit, and made his way up the stairs.

Alex took his hand away from his cheek and was faintly surprised to see blood on it. Wolf had split his lip. Alex wiped away the blood with his sleeve slowly. He did not want to look up and see the K Unit watching him.

Finally Alex looked up to see Eagle staring at the carpet, Fox watching him, and Snake looking uncomfortable. The teen wondered if he could get outside before someone spoke, but Snake walked toward the kitchen and a second later Alex heard the front door shut.

It seemed he did not want to be near the teen.

From upstairs something crashed. Alex winced and closed his eyes, knowing that he was the reason for Wolf's temper.

His response was a little to dramatic in Alex's opinion. Wolf did not like him anyway, all this did was give the man another reason to hate him. Unless he didn't hate me anymore, Alex thought.

That might explain why ha was so bitter, the tape just ruined any trust Wolf might have had in me, he thought.

Alex opened his eyes to see Fox and Eagle looking at each other. Fox shook his head and looked away. Eagle sighed and headed toward Alex while Fox turned and headed silently up the stairs.

"Come on, Cub," Eagle said and he placed an arm around Alex's shoulders while steering him toward the backdoor.

The teen did not protest and let Eagle lead him outside and down the trail. They walked for a while not saying anything. Alex's cheek was aching like a constant reminder of how mad Wolf had been.

Alex wondered if there was a mark yet. He knew there would be one later if there was not one now.

They reached a moss-covered log far enough away from the house that they were out of sight. Eagle sat and Alex followed without question. Alex rested his elbows on his knees and stared at his feet, not sure what he was supposed to do next.

"I'm guessing there's more to the story then we know," Eagle said not looking at Alex but at the wide expanse of deep green ferns. Alex took a deep breath of the slightly humid air and let it out slowly.

"Yeah, a lot more," he said in a quiet voice. Eagle nodded but did not say anything and before Alex knew why he was explaining everything to the man.

"…and right before he died he told me to--to go to Venice and find Scorpia," Alex said a few minutes later after explaining up to this point.

"He said find Scorpia and I would find my destiny….Sounds cheesy doesn't it?" Alex asked, but he did not expect an answer. Eagle did not give him one either. Since Alex had started talking a few minutes ago the man had not said one word. When Alex asked a question the man would nod or make a sound of agreement or disagreement.

Alex wondered for a second if Eagle had even been listening to him as he spilled out his explanation, thoughts and feelings. But then Alex decided that he did not really care. It felt good to get all of it off his chest. He had not been able to talk to Jack and Tom just did not understand.

Alex continued his explanation after taking another deep breath. "So I--went to Venice."

About ten minutes later and a few rare surprised reactions later from Eagle, Alex was done telling his story. His throat was dry, he was emotionally tired, and his face hurt.

Eagle sighed and turned to look at Alex, who was staring at his feet sadly. The man placed his hand on the teens back. "If it had been explained like that earlier..." the man stopped to sigh again.

"You know, Wolf didn't mean to--I mean that his reaction was because of--of," Eagle fumbled for comforting words and Alex turned his head so that he could not see his small smile. Eagle sighed. "If you explain the situation to him I'm sure that he'll calm down."

Alex shook his head. "He's not going to listen to me--after all, I'm just a stupid kid," the teen said grumpily.

"You can't be, that's my job," Eagle said and Alex could not help but grin. "And wouldn't it be better to calmly try and tell Wolf what happened instead of ignoring him because he called you names?"

"I guess," Alex sighed in frustration but he had to admit that Eagle did make sense. The person who kept his temper in a fight always came out looking better.

Eagle stood. "Come on then," he said before he pulled Alex to his feet. They headed back to the house together.

Alex did feel better now that he had talked; he had never talked to somebody like Eagle. The man had probably seen many of the things Alex had. He could understand and so he did not ask questions.

"Um…thanks for listening, Eagle," Alex said as he saw the roof top of the house.

"No problem, Cub," Eagle said and he clapped Alex on the back with a smile. Alex cautiously entered the house almost expecting to see Wolf glaring at him inside, but there was no one in sight. The only thing that even told Alex that there were people in the house were voices upstairs.

Eagle passed Alex and made his way up the stairs. Reluctantly, the teen followed.

At the top of the stairs, Fox's bedroom door was opened. Eagle stopped in the doorway and Alex did the same to see Fox packing a suitcase.

"What's happening?" Eagle asked in confusion as Snake came towards them with his own suitcase.

"M16 called," Fox said. "They're finally moving us." Alex blinked as he took in that information before heading to his bedroom. He had to pack.

"When will they be here?" he yelled from his bedroom as he swung his suitcase onto his moldy bed.

"Thirty minutes at the most," Fox yelled back from his room.

Well at least something happened today that was good, he was finally leaving.

Alex smiled. "Goodbye rats, goodbye leaky ceiling," he sang gleefully before chuckling at himself. Alex wondered where M16 would move him next; it probably would not be as secluded as this house was.

For a second Alex thought that he was going to miss the quietness of the woods, with no traffic and no people. If the house was not such a dump this would have been like a vacation, Alex thought.

If you take out the near death experience, slapping roommates and rats, Alex finished sarcastically.

………………………………

The entire K Unit was outside on the rickety porch waiting impatiently when they finally heard a car coming down the driveway.

Alex moved forward to see the vehicle better. He and the rest of the K Unit had packed everything up in record time and had all their luggage and the food waiting on the porch beside them.

Wolf had not even looked at him yet and Alex had not spoken to the man since the fight.

Alex shook himself out of his thoughts and looked up in time to see the car turn a corner. He wondered what M16 was thinking. There was no way the entire K Unit would fit in that car and the luggage. But then a second car turned the corner and Alex's worries diminished slightly. Now he and Wolf would not have to sit in the same car together.

The tension between them was almost visible; the other members of the K Unit could sense it and they stayed slightly away from both Wolf and Alex.

The cars pulled up in front of the house and the engines were turned off. Mrs. Jones stepped out of of the first car with Henry. The old driver grinned at Alex and opened the luggage compartment. The driver from the other car popped the trunk of his car but did not get out to help with the luggage.

"I see that you're ready to go," Mrs. Jones said as she surveyed them. She did not look any different, dressed in a gray pant suit and sucking on a piece of candy that was most likely peppermint. "Well, load up and we'll leave," she said with a gesture towards the cars.

The K Unit gathered their suitcases and Mrs. Jones walked back over to the first car and got in. Alex placed his suitcase in Henry's waiting hand and smiled warily at the man.

Henry winked at him in a friendly manner and closed the trunk which contained Alex's and Eagle's suitcases.

The other car held Wolf's, Snake's and Fox's suitcases and the people they belonged to.

Alex got in the back of the car with Mrs. Jones while Eagle sat in the front beside Henry. They drove off as soon as the seat belts were buckled; it seemed that Henry's driving had not improved at all.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked Mrs. Jones and Eagle glanced back at him.

"We're moving you to a more…convenient location," she replied shortly.

Alex frowned. "Convenient for who?" he asked with slightly raised eyebrows.

Mrs. Jones sighed slightly. "Scorpia is refusing to come to an agreement," she said and Alex listened keenly.

"They are searching for you and if they do get to you, which they won't," she assured hastily, "then we want to be close by."

Alex turned away from the woman to look out the window; they were just about to break out of the forest and back into civilization. But now Alex was not sure if he wanted to leave; it seemed safe being in the middle of nowhere and he was leaving it.

The turned onto the paved road and Alex said a silent goodbye to his temporary home.

**A/N: **Hopefully this chapter showed up without any mistakes, lol. I'm really sorry about the last chapter, fanfiction site hates me and my documents. This rather quick update is a thank you to all the readers and reviewers out there! Thanks so much for your support and opinions! I think that the K Unit's response was overdone, but was it totally bad an unbelievable?

I just have one question before I thank the reviewers and shut up. I was curious to know what country the reviewers are from, so if you review please add where your from.

Ok, time to thank the reviewers and big thanks to the ones who pointed out the mistake in chapter six!

**Illusjon, HighonDr.Pepper, Melanie Malfoy, Bookflower, **Because I'm an idiot, lol. **TanyaPotter, Gold is Power, Dream of Stories, Hails, **Hails dear, you are not thick, that's my job! Lol, as you've probably figured out by now I had a problem with the last chapter. **Mystery Gal, Ara Reed, **Yep, thanks for telling me! I felt SO stupid when I found out! **Lake25, Draek Dragonclaw, Kaisaan, **Yes, please chuckle at my mistake, (grumble) lol, thanks for telling me! **THIS IS WHERE I FIXED THE CHAPTER. PsychoWing, **The fight was not as major as I had hoped but it will do I guess lol. **Gold is Power, **Thanks!**Inara84, BellaBooTwilight, **Sorry Bells, I can't help it if I love cliffies, lol. **DigMist, **Nope, the tape isn't broke but it would have been so funny if it had been! Lol, I wished I would of thought of that, maybe I'll do it later…Thanks for the idea! **Aimed Mischeif, **Thanks! **Alyzabeth Tyler, **Did their reactions seem ok? Thanks! **Lisbet687, **Lol, Thanks, I'm enjoying writing it! **HawkEye DownUnder, **Well, since you asked like that, lol. I was wondering, does your pen name have anything to do with Hawk Eye on M.A.S.H? Just curious. **Ljus, Jossi-kun, **I'll take that as a compliment, (snicker) **JK Mafia, **You had to re-read my story and I had to re-read your review it was so nice, (I even liked the evil bit, lol) Thanks for reviewing! **Jake Caldefore, **There won't be a video of Alex getting shot but the K Unit will find out about that soon. **Kaisaan, **Yay you! Can you tell what's going to happen next? (snicker) Thanks! **Lady Shadow of Time, **Thanks, here is your update my Lady, (grin) **Kurleyhawk2, **Dundundun, indeed, lol glad you liked it. **Rasgara, AleksandryaGregonovitch, Faiyaryuu, **Thank you so much. **Ara Reed, **Nope, it wasn't you comp, luckily I fixed it. I don't like awkward moments either but there fun to write.

**Mystery Gal, Mizu1411, Alex-rider-girl, She Weapon1 a.k.a AD, **I'm so glad that you like it! I'm also glad you learned a new word, (snicker) Hope you thought this chapter was okay as well. **Rose-Aislin, **Yeah, the power of being an author is so cool, (laughs evilly) **Jusmine, **Thanks, I hope you liked the fight! **Shadow, **There might be girls later but it's not likely, sorry. **XsuicideXkittyX, Enda, **Thanks my ego needed to swell a little, lol. I liked the happy environment developing but then I had to go and ruin it. Hope it wasn't to dramatic, lol. **rmiller92, beachbum454, myboylollipop, Carsinya, **Thanks for the tip, I took out a lot of "the teen's" out of this chapter. I was just looking for other words to describe Alex in the longer sentences. Glad you like it! **Laws of Chaos,** Wow! That hast to be one of the best reviews I've ever received, thank you so much! Hope you liked this chapter.

Smelly Cat


	8. Chapter 8

After they had driven for at least an hour, Alex did not miss the curious and almost worried glances Mrs. Jones sent his way a few times. The bruise on his face must of looked terrible, Alex knew it felt that way.

Hopefully Mrs. Jones would not mention it, Alex did not want to talk about how he had acquired the bruise. He wanted to concentrate on the long and winding roads they kept driving on.

Alex began wondering what Mrs. Jones would say if he stretched out on the seat and went to sleep.

"Do you know how Jack's doing?" Alex asked Mrs. Jones curiously. Any news about how his friend was doing would be welcome. He had not heard anything about her in a while.

"We've been keeping tabs on her and she seems fine. She's with her parents still," Mrs. Jones replied.

Alex thought that over. He was glad that Jack was doing okay and he was happy that she was finally getting to spend some time with her parents.

"How far away is the place were moving to?" Alex asked.

"We are almost there," Mrs. Jones replied shortly and Alex could see Henry grinning in the driver's seat. It appeared Alex was not the only one who liked to irritate the heads of M16.

A few minutes later they turned up a road lined with a house every three acres. It was a nice area. Kids played in some front yards, laughing and yelling, as they ran around while on the side lines parents talked to each other.

They drove to the end of the road where it ended in a dead end; the closest house was about half a mile up the road. Henry turned up the driveway leading to a light yellow two-story house with green shutters.

Alex stared at the house. It looked like a house where a grandma would live and bake cookies for her grandchildren. Not the kind of place where four men and a teen from M16 would hide out, but maybe that was why Mrs. Jones had chose it.

Henry parked the car and turned it off. "This is our stop," Mrs. Jones said as she got out of the car.

"Yes, I noticed that. But why are we stopping?" Eagle asked as he stared at the house with raised eyebrows.

Alex leaned forward. "We're going to meet Mrs. Jones's grandmother," he said. Eagle chuckled while Henry smiled. Alex grinned and opened his door in time with Eagle.

A flower bed ran around the house filled with flowers that Alex could not name. Squirrels ran up trees and birds twittered overhead.

"Yuck," Wolf said jokingly from behind and Alex's shoulders stiffened slightly. He did not turn around, but walked over to Mrs. Jones who was about to unlock the front door.

Alex figured that Wolf liked the look of the house, it was just so different from what they had expected. I was a nice looking place with a homey feel to it, Alex could get used to this.

"Grab your suitcases, gentleman. I have a schedule to keep," she said briskly. Alex turned away to go back and get his luggage, feeling silly for going back and forth. The teen almost bumped into Eagle, who grinned and held out Alex's suitcase.

"Thanks," Alex said and took the suitcase while the rest of the K Unit walked toward the front door.

Mrs. Jones unlocked the door and walked inside. Alex moved toward the door, but Wolf shoved pass him with Snake and Fox right on his tail. Alex rolled his eyes and Eagle patted him on the back sympathetically before the teen shook him off and walked inside.

The house was nice. To the left there was a staircase, straight ahead a hallway, and to the right what looked like a living room. The K Unit gazed around while Mrs. Jones watched momentarily before speaking. "Henry and Sam are bringing in the rest of your luggage and then I'm leaving."

"Bye bye," Eagle said without looking at her and headed down the hallway.

Mrs. Jones sighed and turned to Alex. "Don't let them wreak the place," she said. Alex looked back at her solemnly. "I'll try," he said and Mrs. Jones nodded but she looked like she wanted to say something else. But in the end she decided against it and left the house.

Before Alex could even turn away from the door, Henry and the other driver, Sam, came in with the videos, DVDs, and produce boxes. After setting them down, Henry waved at Alex with a quick "See ya later kid," then left before Ale could glare at him for calling him "kid."

The teen turned around to survey the house better as the door shut behind the drivers.

Wolf was racing Fox up the stairs, Snake was peeking into the living room, and Eagle was no where to be seen. Alex was just about to follow Snake down the living room but a yell from down the hall made him spin around.

Alex only had time to make a short scream of alarm before he was knocked over by a huge ball of fur. "G-get off! Down!" Alex yelled as he tried to stop the large dog from licking his face off.

"What happened?" Wolf said loudly as he ran down the stairs. Fox and Snake almost knocked him over as the man jerked to a stop on the last two stairs.

"Help somebody! Get it off," Alex said with laughter in his voice from underneath the golden lab which was licking his ears.

Fox moved past Wolf, who was still staring at the scene in front of him, and made to move the dog off Alex. Eagle ran into the room and helped Fox pull the happy lab of their teammate.

"Yuck," Alex moaned as he sat up and wiped slobber from his face. Eagle snickered while Fox frowned at the dog.

"Where did that dog come from?" Wolf asked as he finally came down the last few steps.

"I have no idea. Why don't you ask him?" Alex said as he stood and glared at the dog.

"Real funny, brat," Wolf growled as he studied the dog Eagle and Fox were holding in place. "There's a note around his neck," Snake said from the bottom of the stairs.

Alex reached over, pulled the plastic card attached to a loose string from around the panting dog's neck, and read it.

"This is Harley; he's a golden lab and a watchdog. I thought you might need the extra protection and I convinced Mrs. Jones to send him to you. Do not doubt him as he can rip anybody apart at command. Your loyal inventor and friend, Smithers. P.S. The button on his caller will send out a message to HQ if your ever in danger." Alex read with a smile.

"Who?" Wolf asked.

"He's an inventor at MI6. Helped me out a lot," Alex replied as he got down on one knee to pet Harley.

Eagle and Fox glanced at each other and let Harley go cautiously. Harley stared up at Alex, paying no attention to the other men in the room.

"Right," Wolf said dryly. "I'm going to claim the best bedroom," he said and turned to run up the stairs with Snake following him.

Eagle sighed. "I bet I'll get stuck with the pink room," he muttered and Alex chuckled before standing. He headed down the hall with Harley, Eagle, and Fox trailing behind.

The hallway led to a kitchen with a table set for five, marble counter tops, and a stainless steel fridge. "No cockroaches," Alex said approvingly. Eagle made a face while Fox smiled.

There were two door window paned doors that led outside. One of the doors was opened and Alex looked toward Eagle. "I opened it and Harley here came charging through," he explained.

"So you're the one who squealed," Fox said teasingly and Eagle turned away with a huff.

Alex ignored there bickering and headed to an adjoining room. It was a small room with a washer and dryer. The teen smiled. No more smelly clothes, he cheered mentally.

But then again, I bet they've never touched a washer or dryer in there life and I'll get stuck with it, Alex thought with slight irritation.

Eagle came into the room. "Oh goody, now you can wash my smelly socks!"

Alex punched him lightly and shook his head while Eagle laughed and tried to dodge it.

When they exited the laundry room Fox was opening cabinets. "I'm starved," he said as he found a box of saltines and smiled at them.

"You're going to be yummy in my tummy," Fox sang under his breath and Alex rolled his eyes. Fox blushed slightly as he realized he had spoken out loud and turned away to eat his crackers without having to look at Alex.

Snake entered the kitchen and he stole a saltine from a protesting Fox.

"We left you the pink bedroom Eagle," Snake said with a straight face, "I knew it," Eagle muttered. Alex looked around the kitchen before heading to the door that led outside. The back yard was empty except for a picnic table under some trees but still nice. Alex walked around a bit noticing that Harley was following him everywhere but he did not try to shoo him away.

It was kind of nice to have the dog there with him. I wonder if he'd bite Wolf in the rear for me, Alex wondered evilly. With that thought Alex headed back inside with Harley hot on his heels.

Wolf was in the kitchen and Alex resisted the temptation to try out his earlier thought with a barely suppressed smile. "Who's going to cook tonight? " Wolf asked and everyone looked ay each other but no one answered.

"I'm not hungry," Fox said from behind his saltine box. "Well that's good for you but what about the rest of us?" Wolf asked with his arms crossed.

Fox shrugged and grinned. "I guess you guys can starve," he said.

"I'll do it," Eagle said and Snake's eyes widened in horror while Fox ran from the room with a fake yell of, "No!"

Eagle looked down at Harley. "You're my only friend," he said and the dog chose that moment to wander over to the other side if the kitchen.Alex smirked and Fox came back into the room. "I'll do it tonight but someone else gets to do the dishes," he said.

Eagle let out a cheer while Fox shook his head in amusement and Alex left the kitchen to find his bedroom.

He picked up his suitcase, which he had left at the door, and headed up the carpeted stairs. The top of the stairs opened up into a small living room with a couch, television and a recliner. The door next this room was a bathroom and the hallway was lined with doors that contained the bedrooms.

Alex felt nosey as he peered into the first bedroom, but how else was he supposed to find out which ones had been taken? The first bedroom was sage green and Wolf's suitcase sat on the medium sized bed.

The teen left that room quickly and headed for the next. This one was baby pink and Alex bit his lip to hold in a laugh as he exited the room. The last room was large with two twin-sized beds and a couch that probably folded out to a bed.

Alex guessed this was where he would sleep, unless they planned on him sleeping in the pink room. He shivered at the thought and deposited the suitcase onto the couch; hopefully Eagle would get that room. Wolf would have a hay day teasing Alex about it if he got stuck with it.

Alex headed back down the stairs to find Snake tossing goldfish-shapedinto the air for Harley to catch in his mouth. The little orange, crackers flew through the air as Snake tossed them to Harley.

A sudden thought came to Alex. "Where is Harley going to sleep?"

Fox looked up from the stove. "I don't know but would someone please get him out of the kitchen?"

Snake headed to the living room waving a goldfish in the air and Harley followed with his tail wagging happily. "He's not staying in my bedroom," Wolf said firmly from his seat beside the table.

"I don't want to sleep with the flea bag," Snake said from the next room.

"Me either," Eagle said from the fridge he was looking through.

Alex did not say anything. He did not mind the dog but he also did not want to be woken up in the middle of the night.

"Can't he stay outside?" Fox asked. "There's no doghouse out there, he'll get wet if it rains," Eagle said in pity for the dog.

"The closer he is to us the faster we'll be alerted if Scorpia comes around," Wolf said as he stood and walked to the door leading outside to look out through the panes of glass.

"If he's outside and he starts barking they would shoot Harley to shut him up," Alex said.

"He can sleep with Eagle," Wolf said decidedly but Eagle frowned. "What about Cub? He can sleep in my room with Harley and I'll take the couch in the other room," he said.

They looked at Alex, who sighed. "Fine," he grumbled and Eagle smiled.

………………………………..

After eating a rather small dinner of a quickly tossed together salad with chicken, Alex headed upstairs to his pink bedroom. Harley trailed after him and Alex went to Fox's, Snake's and Eagle's bedroom to get his suitcase before heading back to his room.

As he deposited the suitcase on his bed, he looked around the room, taking in things he had not noticed earlier. The one small window was framed by lace cutains and the design on the duvet was roses.

Alex wrinkled his nose. At least he had a room to himself. Harley jumped onto the bed. _Well, almost to myself_, Alex thought. He shooed the happy Labrador off the bed and started to unpack his clothes into the dresser.

He threw the dirty clothes he had already worn to the side of the room to wash later. There was a small bookcase on top of a desk which Alex headed for so he could read the titles.

Most of the books were classics, like _The War of the Worlds, Captain Courageous, Dracula_, and _Old Yeller_. _Old Yeller's probably not the best book to read around my company,_ Alex thought dryly as he glanced at Harley who was watching him with his head tilted to the side.

Alex turned back to the books, reached for a Terry Pratchett book that looked interesting, placed it on the bed for later, and headed downstairs.

Downstairs the K Unit was watching a movie in the living room and trying to steal popcorn from each other. Alex was glad to see it was a real movie and not a tape of one of the K Unit in action.

The teen sat down on the floor a bit away from them and watched the movie for a while. It was a horror movie, but Wolf did not seem to like the characters.

"No, you moron! Don't go in there!" he yelled at the television and popcorn went everywhere as Eagle jumped startled. Fox looked like he was trying not to laugh as Wolf kept talking to the characters in the movie. Eagle and Snake just looked annoyed and they showed there irritation by hitting Wolf with popcorn every once in a while.

They did not even notice Alex's presence until Snake looked around the room and saw him sitting a few feet away. Snake rolled his eyes in Wolf direction and Alex smirked at the man.

Harley came into the living room and ate the popcorn of the floor. "At least we won't have to vacuum," Eagle said with a chuckle.

Soon afterward Alex headed upstairs to go to bed with Harley right beside him.

In his bedroom, Alex changed into his pajama pants and just left his shirt off like he had always done at home. Now I don't have to worry about cockroaches crawling around, Alex thought.

Alex read his book for a while before he got up and turned of the light. He was almost asleep when Harley jumped onto the bed and curled up across his feet. Alex did not have it in him to push the dog off so he sighed and closed his eyes.

……………………………….

It was several hours later that Alex was woken in the middle of the night. He sat bolt upright and stared around the dark room in confusion.

"Sorry for waking you, Cub," said Eagle's voice softly from near the door.

Alex frowned and ran a hand over his eyes sleepily, "S'okay, what do you want?"

Eagle sighed, "Fox and Snake kicked me out because apparently I snore loud enough to wake the dead. Can I stay here, please?"

Alex wanted to say no and go back to sleep, but he did not. "No, I don't mind," he said in a grumpy voice as he moved over to far corner of the bed disturbing Harley as he did so.

"As long as you don't kick or talk in your sleep," Alex said and Eagle chuckled.

"I don't think I do," he said as he made his way over to the bed in the dark. Eagle tripped once and Alex had to cover his mouth so that he would not wake the entire house up with his laughter.

"Shut up, Cub," Eagle said as he pushed back the covers and got in the bed. There was plenty of room between him and Alex in the large bed so that it was not uncomfortable.

"Night Cub," Eagle said with a yawn.

"Night Eagle," Alex replied quietly, his eyelids already closing as he fell asleep.

**A/N: **There is a plot that will unfold within the next few chapters. Just be patient, I'm getting there. I had Eagle talk to Alex because like some people have said, Fox being the go between has been done before. Eagle can be mature when the time comes and he can be a good friend. That was my point and I still love Fox, lol. I'm _thinking_ about starting a yahoo group for my stories and other peoples stories. But first I need to know if 'Smelly Cat Files' is a good name (or if it sucks) and if anyone will join? Thanks for telling me where your from reviewers, I'm from the US, Georgia to be more precise. It's time to thank the reviewers.

**Mizu1411, **Lol, I liked it as well. Thanks for reviewing. **Shadow, Jusmine, **Thanks bunches and I loved the RAP thing on your profile, so true. **Gold is Power, TanyaPotter, **I was worried but it seems that most people liked it! Thanks for reviewing. **Hails, **I don't think your nit-picky, hehe. I appreciate your help, it's like having a second beta, lol. I'll go back and fix the mistakes you found and thanks for pointing out the Americanisms. Glad you like the…texture of my story (snicker). I use the Microsoft Works Word and I like it, I don't really mind having to check the chapter before I post it. Only when I forget to do it, is it annoying. **HighonDr.Pepper, **They will find out in the next chapter, (grin). **Mad Mogg, **Wolf can still be a git, he will get better soon though. Even if I have to force him to hug Alex, lol. **Swabloo, **(Chuckle) Love scones but I can't see drinking tea with milk, just eew! There was a building near by with a camera mounted on the top. It was not being watched by security so that's why they were late and MI6 only got it (the camera) after the whole fiasco was over with. That's my explanation and I'm sticking with it,lol. **Mystery Gal, PsychoWing, **I'll go back and fix the 'No way' soon. Thanks for your reassuring review! **BellaBooTwilight, **Thanks so much! Hope you liked this chappie as well. **Bookflower, **It's great that you did not think the reactions were over the top, thanks. **Oliveoil889, Enda, **(smile) Thanks so much for your reassuring review. **Faiyaryuu, Jossi-kun, HawkEye DownUnder, **Lol, Oh well, I just had to ask. **Enda, **Yeah, cheeky grins help, (snicker). **Fattoad, Dechtire, digMist, Carsinya, **I laughed at your 'I'm-really-a-puppy-trapped-in-a-soldier's-body' description of Eagle. So true, I love hyper characters. **2TheMaX, **Yep very soon, don't tell anyone, (giggle). **Alyzabeth Tyler, **You got me very hyper with your review. I was jumping up and down for the longest. **AlekanddryaGregonovitch, **Wow, you have been everywhere. That can be real cool or suck, thanks. **Rasgara, She Weapon1 a.k.a AD, **From the great down under to my computer came your lovely review, hehe. Thanks! **Alex-rider-girl, **Thanks, glad you liked it. **Meia-Noite, **Thank Ye for the review. **Katie,** Katie, glad you enjoyed. **Lady Shadow of Time, **Cool, my story loves you to but it can't date until it's 15 chapters long….Me silly verging on stupid? Naw.** JK Mafia, **Fast forward, yep Wolf hit Alex. The git, lol. Your reasoning as to why it happened was very precise to mine. Glad you understood. **Kaisaan**, I don't mind predictions, bring em on, lol. **RiGhTeO, **A new reader cool, thanks bunches for the review! **Jeps, Obvious oxymoron, Orishgoddess, **Lol, I'm not mad at you for reviewing later or anything. Glad you liked it. **Draka Nyoki, Randomness, Hylian-dragoness, **Fight, fight!! Woo hoo! Right, thanks for the review! **Ennaira, **You bet, (smile) Thanks. **kakashilover1357**: Wow, thanks for the major compliment. He will explain things to Wolf and Alex is going to have some excitement soon. **Sun Knight AND HaydenBlossom, **You two almost did not get thanked, lol. But my review alert got to me _just in time._ So thank you both ever so much for reviewing! I was not expecting anymore for this chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

Alex woke to Harley nudging his face with his wet nose. Not wanting to get up, he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow; it was morning and guessing from the brightness of the room, getting late.

He stretched with his head still buried in his delightfully fluffy pillow. When Alex stretched out a hand, he hit someone. That someone yelped, and Alex jerked up into a kneeling position and almost hit Harley, who jumped off the bed. The teen was fully alert now and surprised to see Eagle.

Eagle glared at him through half-asleep eyes as he rubbed his nose. "What is it with you and hitting me?" he asked with more annoyance than humor and Alex grinned at him sheepishly.

"Sorry, I forgot you were here," he muttered and Eagle sat up with a sigh.

"That's all right, I need to get up anyway," Eagle said.

Eagle stood up with a grunt and moved to let Harley out. Alex got out of the bed reluctantly. The teen stretched again. When next he looked up, Eagle was facing him, staring at him with a shocked expression.

Confused and feeling self-conscious, Alex crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke. "What?"

A second later he realized that his arms were touching his bare flesh and that his bullet wound was not covered--nor were any of his other scars. With that realization, Alex turned around quickly to fetch a t-shirt, but it was too late. He had just grabbed a green shirt when Eagle's hands landed on his shoulder and spun him around.

"Wha--where did all these scars come from, Cub!" he asked in a serious but uneasy tone that was unlike him.

Alex was about to reply when the door flew open and the rest of the K Unit entered with exclamations of, "Wake up already!" and "Are you dead or something?"

But they stopped short at the sight of Alex and Eagle and blinked.

Wolf opened his mouth to speak when his eyes found the largest scar on Alex's chest and his mouth snapped shut audibly.

Feeling embarrassed and uncertain Alex pulled himself out of Eagle's grasp and turned around to pull the shirt over his head. But once again Eagle stopped him by grabbing the shirt out of his hands and throwing it to Fox, who caught it easily.

Alex glared at them and crossed his arms over his chest but did not speak.

There was a uncomfortable silence in the room before Wolf moved forward briskly. Instinctively Alex moved back against the wall trying to put more distance between him and Wolf.

The leader of the K Unit froze and a pained expression flew across his face, leaving Alex wondering if it had even been there. "How'd that happen, Cub?" Wolf said and Alex met his eyes warily. The man seemed to be in control but his eyebrows were creased in worry.

_Worry? Is he worried about how I got the scar? _Alex wondered before deciding to speak.

"Scorpia--shot me," he muttered and Snake moved forward to stand beside Wolf. The Scottish man reached out his hand toward Alex's chest.

"May I see?" he asked. Alex hesitated but he lowered his arms slowly and watched as Snake's hand reached out to run over the scarred flesh with gentle fingers. Snake's thin eyebrows slanted as he studied the wound. "How long ago was this?" he asked quietly and glanced up at Alex.

"A few months ago," Alex replied.

Wolf interrupted. "Wait," he said. "Your appendix…"

Alex grinned as he continued Wolf's sentence. "Was actually a bullet wound," he said. Wolf shook his head.

Snake continued his questioning. "How many missions have you been on since?"

"Two," Alex replied immediately and Harley came into the room at that moment to rub his head fondly against the teen's leg.

"Did you do any hard labor during these missions?" Wolf asked as Snake pulled his hand away from the scar.

"…Yes," Alex said hesitantly. He hoped they would not ask for further detail; he did not want to go into his latest missions right now.

"Doesn't it hurt?" Eagle asked curiously as he ran his hand through Harley's hair. Snake and Wolf looked up at Alex's face as they waited for an answer.

"Sometimes I get littler shoots of pain," Alex said truthfully as he looked around for another shirt and Snake frowned.

"Didn't they give you some pain relievers or something?" Fox asked as he tossed Alex's shirt back to him. Alex shrugged and caught the shirt.

"For a while, but they said I could get addicted and MI6 did not want that so the doctors stopped giving them to me."

He pulled the shirt over his head, momentarily blocking the K Unit's worried expressions from his eyes. Alex had not expected them to be concerned about him, but then again, he had not expected anything. Because he had not counted on them finding out about his bullet wound in the first place.

"And the other scars came from more missions?" Fox asked and Alex nodded as he headed to the doorway of his room purposely not meeting anyone's eyes. Maybe they would drop the subject if he just ignored them and their questions.

Harley ran in front of Alex and down the stairs in a flurry of movement. In the kitchen Alex found Harley whining at the back door and he let him out before heading over to the sink to wash his sweaty hands.

The K Unit came in as he was drying his hands. Alex tried to ignore their stares, but after a while it was too annoying.

"What?" he asked as he put the cereal box on the counter a little harder then needed.

They looked away and it was Fox who finally got the courage to speak. "Why didn't you tell us you got shot?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "You didn't ask," he said before fetching the milk and a bowl.

Wolf spoke up in a quiet but stern voice. "This is not funny, Alex." Now unused to hearing his real name, Alex looked up. "One of us could have accidentally hurt you or something, and you don't even have some pain pills or--or anything. If we had known we could have been more careful--"

Alex cut Wolf's speech of with a loud groan that made the K Unit look at him in surprise. "Even if I had thought about telling you I wouldn't have and this is why!" Alex exclaimed waving his arms at them. Look at yourselves! You're treating me like I'm going to die any second. I'm fine, so stop acting like mother hens and more like macho SAS men. You're an embarrassment to all things manly!" Alex said with a final glare.

He stalked from the room with his breakfast in hand. Alex just managed to shut the living room door before he laughed into one of his hands.

_You're an embarrassment to all things manly? _Alex thought with another laugh that was quickly muffled. Alex had not even managed to sit down before the K Unit barged through the door. There was a grin on Eagle's face, but the others still looked uncomfortable.

"Um--have you felt any pain since you've been here?" Snake asked Alex as the teen turned on the television unconcernedly.

"Sometimes," Alex said as he flipped through the channels while eating from the bowl in his lap.

Wolf sat down with a thoughtful expression on his face and Eagle walked over to the video box to pick it up and drop it on the coffee table.

"I'm going to get something to eat, then let's watch some more tapes. All we have are some old war documentaries and cheap films," Eagle said as he got up to go to the kitchen.

"You want to watch more after how the last one went?" Snake asked incredulously. Eagle blinked while Alex waited with baited breath to see what the man would say.

"I know the real story behind that tape and it's not as horrible as it looked," he said with a shrug before he left the room.

Fox and Snake looked at Wolf, who was watching the doorway which Eagle had left through. Alex tried to ignore them all as they looked at each other.

Some of the tension in the room dissipated when Eagle reappeared. "Eagle…what did you mean by, 'it's not as horrible as it looked'?" Snake asked as he sat in a recliner.

Eagle sat down with an apple in hand and he dragged the box of tapes to himself. "Easy. I meant that after you hear Alex's explanation about the thing with Mrs. Jones, it does not seem as bad."

"Wolf might even feel the need to apologize," Eagle muttered, but Alex heard along with all the others and he choked on his cereal.

Snake stared at Alex with clear blue eyes. "Are you going to tell us what he's talking about?"

Alex did not answer but tipped his bowl up to drink the leftover milk. "Tell them already, Cub," Eagle said through a mouthful of granola.

Alex sighed but he knew that there was no way he could get his way. The K Unit were just too stubborn.

"I--I thought that Mrs. Jones had…." Alex stopped talking and closed his eyes. He did not know how to explain it to the K Unit. How would they react? Eagle had been great, understanding and calm, but how would the others respond and how was he supposed to tell them?

_What am I supposed to tell them? That I made a mistake? _There were so many questions in Alex's head. The K Unit was waiting for him to speak, but Alex did not talk until he felt a hand on his arm.

Alex opened his eyes to see Eagle staring at him. A scratching sound mixed with whimpering came from the window and Alex looked over in surprise to see Harley peering through the window.

Alex laughed. Eagle grinned and moved toward the kitchen to let Harley inside. The retriever ran into the living room a minute later with Eagle behind him.

Harley ran to Alex immediately and rested his pretty head on the teen's knee to look up at him adoringly. "Puppy love," Fox said with a chuckle. Alex smiled at Harley and scratched behind the dog's ears.

He had always wanted a dog, but Ian had said he did not need one. Alex had not fought Ian's decision, although sometimes, when he was lonely, he wished he had. It was funny how Alex ended up getting a dog from Smithers. He just wished he could keep it. _More then likely when this thing is over Harley will be taken back, _Alex thought.

He wanted to sigh again, but he did not. Instead he looked in Harley's trusting eyes and told the K Unit why he almost shot Mrs. Jones.

"Someone died and I was there when it happened--the man told me to find Scorpia right before he passed away," Alex said and he looked up to see Wolf frowning.

"Who was this man?" he asked.

Alex did not say anything. "Cub," Wolf said in a warning tone and Alex blanched.

He had not told Eagle about Yassen, just that a man had told him to go to Venice. Alex was not sure how they would handle it. Were they even aware of Yassen? They have to be, he was a world famous assassin. "Yassen Gregorvitch," he said in a soft voice.

A big 'thud' was the sound that Alex heard next as Eagle literally fell over in surprise. He had been reaching around the scratch his back and his off-balance state, combined with the latest surprise, tipped him over the edge of his seat.

"How in the world did you come in contact with Gregorvitch!" he yelped from the floor.

"And how are you still alive?" Wolf asked. Alex blinked with a shrug. He did know why he was still alive, but did he want to tell them?

"He knew my dad," Alex said and he could feel the questions in their eyes burning into his face. "Dad was a double agent and he worked for MI6 while pretending to work for Scorpia."

"Spying runs in the family," Alex heard Fox mutter and he silently agreed but continued speaking.

"When Dad was in Scorpia he saved Yassen's life. They worked together. Yassen did not know that Dad was a spy for MI6, so right before he died he told me to go the Venice and find Scorpia," Alex said.

Snake was nodding in understanding now. "He thought he was doing you a favor by telling you about Scorpia so you could find out the truth about your father," he said with sarcasm on the word truth.

"Yeah," Alex replied and Fox leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped.

"Let me guess, you did what he said," Fox asked. Alex nodded. "That's why I'm in this mess now, really," he said. Snake and Fox looked sympathetic but Eagle had already heard the outline of most of the story.

"How did you get to Venice? Surely your--uh--Jack did not let you go without a really good excuse and someone to go with you?" Wolf asked.

Alex did not want to say the he had used his friend to find an evil organization--he definitely did not want to say that. Even if it was true, he had not know how corrupt and sick Scorpia was.

"The chance came up for me to go to Venice and I took it," Alex said vaguely.

Wolf's eyes narrowed while Fox and Snake exchanged looks. Eagle, on the other hand was making faces at Harley. The dog watched him with an unimpressed expression.

"How exactly did you get to Venice?" Wolf asked sternly. Alex gave the man a look but answered, "A friend invited me to go with him to Venice and I decided that while I was over there I would check Scorpia out."

Fox shook his head in a incredulous and slow movement. "He thought he would 'check Scorpia out.'" He sighed. Alex resisted blushing. He had not known how dangerous Scorpia was at the time.

"How did you manage to find Scorpia without your friend wondering what you were doing?" Eagle asked. The man actually seemed interested in the conversation now that he had stopped playing with Harley.

"Well--Tom kinda knows I'm a spy so…" Alex trailed off in the silence. The K Unit and Harley were staring at him. "He doesn't know every mission I've been on, he just knows the main stuff--and he's be sworn to secrecy," Alex said defensively.

"By who, you?" Wolf asked with a snort.

Alex glared at him. "Yes me."

"How can you be sure he won't tell, Alex?" Fox asked obviously questioning Alex's wisdom in revealing his hobby.

"I can't be sure, I just have to trust him," Alex replied. K Unit did not seem happy with his answer. It made Alex feel a bit angry, but also helpless. He stood up, making Harley move out of his way in the process.

"It's just--since MI6 made me spy for them I haven't had a lot of time for school," Alex said and he unconsciously started pacing the creamy colored rug.

The K Unit and Harley watched him as he walked left and right with a troubled expression on his face.

"MI6 always gives me the same excuse to my school. They say I was sick. They have a doctor note and everything but no one believes it. Who gets sick that often? No one, that's who," Alex said bitterly.

"What do your schoolmates and friends think?" Snake asked softly.

Alex gave a short laugh. "Most of my friends disappeared. They all think different things. The most common is that I'm doing drugs, but the rumor that I'm involved with a street gang is also up there," Alex said.

"And the street gang one would possibly explain your scars. You get into fights," Fox said and Alex nodded.

"Exactly. You're catching on now," he said sarcastically.

"Tom's the only one who didn't listen to all those rumors…I just had to tell someone and he asked. He had the right to know," Alex said in a slightly desperate voice.

He looked up with a crinkled forehead and the K Unit looked back. "We understand Alex. I would of told Tom, too, when you put it that way," Fox said with a light smile.

Relief flooded through him making his shoulders slump and he sat on the carpet without thinking twice about it. "Thanks," he said softly as Harley came over to lay down and put his head in Alex's lap.

Alex petted behind the retriever's ears and when the dog let out an almost human sigh of pleasure he could not help but laugh.

"So…what else happened with Scorpia?" Snake asked.

Alex sighed. "To make a long story short, I found Scorpia, got told a bunch of half lies, and was manipulated. They wanted me to prove that I was serious about becoming one of them so they set a test for me."

They waited as Alex drew in another breath. "Scorpia wanted me to kill Mrs. Jones," he said. "They had told me a lot of lies that I believed and as you saw I almost shot her," Alex stopped to lick his dry lips.

He did not look up at the K Unit this time. "Why didn't you?" Fox asked softly.

"I guess I didn't have it in me," Alex said with a half-hearted shrug. The next second he was surprised when one of Eagle's arms wrapped around his shoulders warmly.

"I'm glad that you didn't," he said. "If you had then I would have been disappointed in you," Snake said.

"Thanks," Alex said. Wolf stood up and cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I guess I owe you an apology…" he said slowly and Alex did not reply. "I shouldn't have blown up like I did and--I--" Wolf sighed. "I hope that you will forgive me?" he asked in a voice that suggested his apology was almost painful.

"I accept your apology, Wolf," Alex said with a smile, he stood and held out his hand. With a huge smile on his face, Wolf took Alex's hand and shook it. "If you do anything else without thinking, though, I'm going to beat you up," he said.

"Deal," Alex said with a smile. He was too busy being happy about Wolf offering him a peace treaty to be offended.

Then they let go of each others hands and Eagle immediately jumped in to pester them.

"Now, wasn't that sweet," he said with a big grin that promised much tormenting. He did not have a chance to say anything else as Wolf and Alex jumped on him.

Wolf grabbed Eagle's head and started giving him a harsh noogie, to many protests. Alex grabbed his arms and held them behind his back as Harley came up to join in and licked every inch of Eagle's face.

Fox was laughing. "We need a camera or something-f-for blackmail!" he gasped out. Wolf and Alex finally let Eagle go and the man collapsed oin the carpet with laughter as he pushed Harley away.

"Disgusting," he said wiping his face. "I know where that toungue has been."

Alex knew as well and he made a face as he held out a hand to help Eagle off the floor. Eagle took it but instead of using it to get up he pulled Alex's hand hard and the teen was pulled to the floor. Eagle stood and smirked down at him. "Sore loser," Alex muttered with a grin as he stood.

"I wonder if we have any popcorn," Eagle asked unexpectedly and Snake laughed at him.

"If we do make sure you wash your hands and face before eating," Wolf said with a shiver.

"Why? You know I just _love _poop-tinted popcorn," Eagle muttered sarcastically as he left leaving the rest of the K Unit laughing behind him.

A few minutes later Eagle came back in with a huge bowl of popcorn and Snake put his hand in immediately.

"So are were watching home videos or playing snakes and ladders?" Eagle asked as he plopped down on the sofa.

"Videos!" Alex, Fox, Wolf and Snake said as one.

Eagle chuckled. "Well pick one out already," he said.

Wolf picked out another video and read the title on it with a sneer came onto his face. "It's another one of Cub's. How come there are more tapes of him than anyone else?" he asked.

"Cub took all of ours and hid them," Fox said as he grabbed the video from Wolf and put it in. Alex rolled his eyes. "I don't mind though," Fox said. "His _are _more interesting then what I've done," he said while shooting a grin at Alex.

The screen suddenly showed Alex jumping from the outside of a building to get to the ledge that ran along the side of the building. He missed the ledge and barely managed to grab onto the Union Jack that waved from it's flag pole.

The K Unit watched as on the screen Alex managed to throw himself onto the ledge, open a window, and climb into the office. The tape ended and and Eagle pushed the popcorn into Alex's lap before moving forward to eject the tape and put in another.

"What in the world were you doing?" Wolf asked with a short laugh.

"I had to get to the next room and the door from the inside was locked," Alex said with embarrassment.

"Why was it so important that you would do something so…dangerous?" Snake asked with raised eyebrows.

"It was kind of silly, really. I had no important reason. I was just curious," Alex said with a shrug and Wolf looked at him disbelievingly.

"Wow Cub, you must have a death wish or something," Fox said disapprovingly with a stern expression on his face.

Alex did not say anything. He was born curious and it made him who he was. It had got him in trouble plenty of times, but it had also saved his life and many other lives as well.

Eagle put in another tape before trying to take back the popcorn. Alex stole the last huge handful before he let go of the bowl. The first scene of the new tape showed up and Alex winced. The camera lens was slightly dirty and the corner was smudged.

There was little light but the fact that they were in a warehouse was obvious. To be precise, it was a sugarcane factory. But it was not sugar cane on the conveyor belt that led to the crusher--it was Alex. He lay there helplessly, drugged to the point where movement was almost impossible.

The camera had a good view of Alex who expression was terrified and frustrated as he screamed at someone not in the camera's view. He could not move and he was about to be crushed like an apple in a juicer by the huge stones. Even though there was living proof of Alex's survival sitting right next to them, the K Unit appeared anxious. Even Harley was watching the screen as he sat at their feet. No sound came from the television, but what they were watching was bad enough without sound.

Alex's feet were almst touching the grinding stones now and Alex closed his eyes just as smoke drifted in the air and the belt stopped moving. On the screen Sarov stood beside and spoke with a worried look on his face. Alex who opened his mouth but nothing came out and the last thing the K Unit saw were the teen's eyes rolling back in his head as he went limp.

"You've had a lot of close calls…" Snake said looking slightly worried.

Wolf smiled and stood. "He's worried about your health Alex, better watch out. You'll find him trying to get you to eat more next," Wolf said with a chuckle.

Snake rolled his eyes. "I'm not _that _bad," he said. "_But_--"

Snake was cut off as Eagle and Wolf groaned at their friend. "When you called us over-protective I think you only meant Snake," Fox said to Alex with a grin.

They turned off the TV and headed outside with Harley. There was not a lot outside the house, a few trees and some flowers. Alex lay down on the grass to stare up at the clear sky. A few minutes later he was disturbed from his half asleep state by a soft foam ball hit him in the head.

"Hey, watch it!" he exclaimed. Alex stood up with the soft ball in hand and chucked it back at the grinning Eagle.

"Where did you find that?" Snake asked before laughing when it hit Eagle on his forehead and made him stumble back in surprise.

"It was under that bush there. One of the neighboring kids probably lost it or something," Eagle said as he picked up the ball and threw it to Snake. Harley was watching it all with barely contained excitement.

Snake threw the ball to Wolf who stumbled to catch it. When Alex laughed at him, Wolf shot him a glare. "Shut it Cub," he said and threw the ball to Harley. The golden retreiver jumped to catch the ball and pranced over to a tree to sit and chew on his ball.

Alex went over to Harley and ended up wrestling the dog for the ball. He finally got in and the dog barked indignantly. Alex laughed and made a run for it as the dog growled playfully.

……………………………..

Twenty minutes later the K Unit tramped inside while Harley slept outside with his new toy held under his paws protectively. Alex went to the bathroom to wash his hands and arms to get rid of the dog smell. Unfortunetly the rest of the K Unit also smelled like Harley and were eager to get rid of the smell. This resulted in a short water war before they all emerged from the bathroom wetter than when they had entered.

Alex was surprised to see that it was already half past five. The day had passed quickly.

_Today was not so bad, _he thought. His disagreement with Wolf had been settled and he felt happier than he had in days.

Eagle ended up cooking dinner again, although Alex and Fox helped. They ended up taking their dinner to the living room and watching some TV show that Alex did not recognize. After dinner Wolf and Snake were assigned clean up duty, much to their dislike.

"I think there is an apron in the cabnet if you need it, Wolf," Alex called as they walked sulkily towards the kitchen. As Eagle and Fox laughed, Wolf came hurtling out of the kitchen with a mischievous expression on his face. The man was heading straight for Alex, who yelped and raced for the door laughing in excited spurts.

The front door was locked and the adrenaline made Alex's hands too shaky to unlock it before Wolf caught him. Wolf's strong arms lifted him of the ground even, though Alex yelled, "No!" in a mortified voice that was heavy with hilarity.

Wolf laughed but held Alex firmly even as he struggled lightly and carried him back to the living room. "Your going to get it now, Cub!" he said teasingly as Alex was dragged into the living room. The teen managed to twist around and grab onto the sides of the doorway to try and use it to pull himself out of Wolf's hold.

It did not work because Eagle joined in and pryed Alex's fingers off the doorway chuckling the entire time. Alex was not sure what was going to happen. It reminded him of when Ian used to play with him by chasing him around the house and pretending to be the 'Boogie man' or some other creature. But that was years ago--and yet Alex was having more fun then he had had in almost a year. The excitement and adrenaline had him absolutely hyper as he tried to escape from his friends.

"What's going on in here?" Snake asked as he entered the room. Seeing Wolf and Eagle half carrying a laughing Alex into the room he grinned. "Ahh, we're torturing Alex!" he exclaimed playfully and joined in.

Soon Alex was wrestled to the carpet and held down mercilessly as Fox pressed a finger into his side lightly. Alex could not help but try to get away and Fox grinned maliciously at the rest of the K Unit.

"Cub here is ticklish," he said with a chuckle.

"I am not!" Alex said indigently and a little bit to fast, he tried to get up but failed. The K Unit looked at each other then at the struggling teen. Wolf poked at Alex's side harder than Fox had and received a small shriek from the teen.

"Oh really?" Wolf said to Alex who grinned feebly but did not speak. The next thing Alex knew he was being tickled mercilessly by Wolf and Fox while Eagle and Snake kept him from getting up.

"Nooo! Hahaaa!" Alex screamed with laughter and the K Unit was laughing at the teen while they tickled him.

They finally let him go when he was too weak from laughter to make any move to get up. Alex was panting slightly and his side hurt every time his laughter tried to resurface. "You guys are_ mean_," he said.

The K Unit snickered at him and Alex glared at them before heading toward his bedroom.

It was only around ten now but he wanted to read a little more before going to bed. Alex was halfway through his book and lying stomach down on his bed when the bedroom door opened and Harley trotted in.

A second later Eagle stood in the doorway. "Harley wanted in so here he is," Eagle said.

Fox and Wolf passed the doorway saying, "Night Cub," as they passed.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Alex asked just as Eagle yawned.

"Well I'm not welcome with Wolf and them so I'll probably sleep on the couch…" he trailed off with a forlorn expression on his face.

"Oh _brother_," Alex moaned, but the sad, puppy dog look did not leave Eagle's face.

"Fine," Alex grumbled, "You can stay here tonight but if you start snoring I'm going to get Harley to drag you out of the room."

Eagle brightened noticeably and grinned at Alex before hopping to the bed and jumping onto it, almost squashing Alex in the process. The teen sighed as Eagle pulled back the covers, grabbed what Alex considered _his _pillow and said, "You can turn the lights of now."

Alex wished Eagle could see his glare. He had heard the underlining tone of amusement in the man's voice. Eagle had used the kicked, puppy dog look and it had worked on Alex.

Sighing, Alex made to turn out the light and patted Harley on the head before getting into the bed. Eagle was hogging most of the covers. _And he will probably slobber all over my pillow, _Alex thought with a wince.

But it could have been worse. Thinking back on the day he had had, Alex smiled lightly. It had not been a bad day over all. Wolf was not mad at him and had actually treated Alex like a friend, verging on a brother. For the first time since his reunion with his teammates, Alex actually felt contented. With that feeling, Alex fell asleep with one hand dangling over the bed to lay on silky fur of Harley's head.

Sadly, this bought of calm was about to come crashing down around the K unit. Because even as they slept peacefully in their comfy beds, Scorpia was coming.

**A/N: **So I'm thrilled at the responses to Harley, his name was going to be Marley but after reading Marley and Me I decided it would be a bad sign, lol. This was the longest chapter so far! Almost six thousand words! Congrats to the reviewers who used their observation skills and knew that the bullet wound would appear in this chapter! I started my yahoo group which is called, Smelly Cat Files. I think I like the name so now all I need are members. The link to join is in my profile so stop by and if you don't like it you can always leave. If you join you who will receive sneak peeks at new chapters (is it tempting you already? (wink)) And then there is the other stuff I have planned but can not happen without members. Time to thank the reviewers! **SamJakeEly, Gold is power, PsychoWing, **You win the good observer award for noticing the bullet would thing. I wondered if anyone would notice and you did! Thanks for pointing out the mistake. **Jusmine, **Lol, Fox is mentally fine. No worries. You chose my story over Algebra, thank you, (grin). If you did not then I would be scared, lol. **Hails, **Thanks for pointing out those mistakes Hails. I like that someone reads it's good enough to notice mistakes, (smile). **Rasgara, Mystery Gal, Skyheart92, **Well now you can join if you wish, link is in my profile. **Bookflower, Lisbet687, Fattoad, Lake25, BellaBooTwilight, HighonDr.Pepper, **They will be good chapters. Sorry I confused you. **Carsinya, Enda, Flit, **Howdy neighbor! Thanks for reviewing. **HawkEye DownUnder, Alyzabeth Tyler, **Lol, they can't pain it. It's not there house, there just living In it for awhile. If they painted if the owners might get mad and then we would have trouble, lol. **Rose-Aioslin, **Fox being the go between? I don't remember, Fox just seems the type to keep his temper and try to calm things down. But he's not perfect and so when he got upset it was time for someone else to take the grown-up position, this time it was Eagle. I know Eagle and grown-up should not go in the same sentence, lol. **She Weapon1 a.k.a. AD, **Thanks, there will be action in the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing. **Crystal Roads, RiGhTeO, Kaisaan, **Glad I amused you, lol. Scorpia will be in the next chapter obviously, lol. Thanks for reviewing! **SUITEROSE, Draka Nyoki, Lady Shadow of Time, HaydenBlossom, Mizu1411, **No, a pink bedroom is not that bad. But Eagles a man and pink is unmanly, lol. **Alex-rider-girl, randomness, Embry, Oirshgoddess, **I like some filler chapters as long as there is a lot of interacting like you said. Sadly there will be action in the next chapter, (wink). **Lee Pyro, ****AleksandryaGregonovitch****, **Moving again? Get around, get around, you get around! **Hylian-dragoness, **You got it right, congrats. (smile). **Brittany, Loz727, AyameKitsuneb **and**Captain Nire****, **No, they did not read Cub's file and there not going to get the chance to, (evil laugh). Thanks for the review!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: There is mild **violence** in this chapter. You have been warned.

Sadly, this bought of calm was about to come crashing down around the K unit. Because even as they slept peacefully in their comfy beds, Scorpia was coming.

An hour later, the back door silently slid open and men filed inside the kitchen. In the front of the house more men wearing balaclava, dark clothing and a few carrying guns. They came into the house like thieves in the night. But they were not after impressive items or jewelry. These men were after people.

…………………..

Just up the stairs, Harley's head rose alertly. He cocked his head to the side. Yes, just down the stairs he could hear people. Unwelcome humans were in his house and no one was allowed in his house except for is master and his master's friends. Harley looked up at his master who was sleeping soundly on his side with his legs curled up toward his chest. The retriever looked toward the door. Harley could hear the intruders getting closer to where his master slept. He had to do something!

Harley stood on the bed, raised his head and barked loudly. The two inhabitants on the bed were woken as the dog carried on. "Harley, what is it?" Alex asked drowsily as he struggle to sit up.

On the other side of the bed Eagle was just waking up when he and Alex heard the people on the stairs.

Alex's eyes widened perceptibly and without thinking twice he threw himself toward his retriever. Harley did not stop barking as Alex grabbed his collar and pressed the button on it. Scorpia was here; MI6 had to be alerted.

"Cub?" Eagle asked confusedly. Alex turned toward the man who was trying to get up and said one word, "Scorpia." Eagle froze and his head spun around with a horrified expression on his face.

Thundering footsteps and Harley's howling were the only thing that warned them before the bedroom door was thrown open and the men flooded the room.

Immediately the men grabbed Alex's arms. Alex kicked out desperately at the masked men as they threw him to the floor.

"Wolf!" he yelled out as loud as he could before someone slammed a hand over his face hard enough to slam his head against the wooden floor. Maybe they had not reached the other members of the K Unit yet and he could still warn them.

Alex could not escape but he had help. Harley came out of nowhere snarling fiercely and he bit the man who was keeping Alex from speaking. "Fox, Snake, they're here!" Alex yelled as he struggled to get away again. He was quickly subdued as someone kicked at Harley and then forced a piece of duct tape over Alex's mouth and rolled him onto his stomach.

Someone's knee was slammed onto the teen's back, pinning him to the ground. "Do something about the mutt already!" someone yelled. The sound of a gun going off made Alex freeze up and the yelp of pain from Harley made him close his eyes.

They shot Harley, he thought dazedly. The next second the floor shook slightly as Eagle was pushed into the same position as Alex. Alex's cheek was pressed firmly to the ground so that all he could really see was his friend. The teen's hands were wrenched behind his back and a thick rope was being tied around his wrists. Alex clenched his wrists tightly and tried to keep them slightly separated from each other.

Eagles eyes looked worriedly at Alex, asking silently if he was okay. Alex nodded slightly and Eagle looked depressed and shocked at their situation. There was a large piece of silver duct tape covering the Eagle's mouth so talking was out of the question for both of them.

It was hard to understand what was going on behind them. The men were talking hurriedly and Alex could not make out any words as he lay helpless.

Unexpectedly, he was lifted of the floor backwards by his arms and he saw Eagle being moved the same way. The men were ready to leave now that they had acquired what they came to get. They were dragged out of the room and Alex saw Harley lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. Alex met his dog's eyes and Harley whimpered and tried to move pitifully right before the teen was pulled out the doorway.

In the hallway Alex glanced around and saw the other members of the K Unit in same position as himself. After being dragged harshly down the stairs and into the kitchen, Alex was pulled to a stop. The dizzy spy looked up into the face of the leader of this little group.

He was tall, muscular, and had short hair. There was a small scar under one eye, Alex noticed, as the man looked him over. Sounds of more people entering the kitchen alerted Alex that the rest of his unit was here.

The leader looked them over as they were dragged together. "We have them all, captain," said one man said with a gasp. At the captain's inquiring look, the gasping man answered, "I think one of them broke my nose, sir."

Captain looked annoyed. "We'll talk about this later. Let's go."

Alex was spun around and led to the door. Wolf met his eyes and nodded. Alex did not know what the nod was for. Wolf was probably telling him to be ready and that they could still escape.

Three dark vans waited outside the house. They were parked recklessly in the yard and driveway. Alex was dragged over to the second van. The side door was flung open and Alex was shoved inside so that he fell on his face. Some of the men laughed, but it did not matter because Alex could hear Eagle causing ruckus at the teen's defense. The reminder that he had people with him that cared about his well being was enough to make Alex pull himself up and kick a few times at the kidnappers.

They stopped laughing when Alex hit someone's knee and a sickening crack echoed in everyone's ears. The man Alex had hit fell like a rock and started screaming behind his balaclava.

Alex was grabbed roughly and held down as they tied his feet together and made someone sit on them. He might have laughed at them if it was not for the duct tape. The one Alex had kicked was still whimpering pathetically as the other men laid him down on the floor of the van.

Alex face was lined up with the man's feet and the teen was grateful that the man was wearing shoes. The captain came over from one of the other vans to see what was going on and swore when he saw the torn up knee of one of his men.

"Get in the damn vans," he growled loudly and the men scattered. The captain climbed in the back of the van as the engine turned on and slammed the door. Wolf and Eagle were sitting uncomfortably beside Alex's head which was resting on the floor since he could not sit up.

"What happened to Halter, Freskey?" The captain snapped out as he looked at the whimpering man in disgust. Freskey looked like a rat with beady black eyes, sharp teeth that glinted and a squeaky voice.

"The kid kicked his knee and busted his knee cap," Freskey said with a sneer in Alex's direction.

The captain turned his head fast enough to get whiplash and glared at Alex who stared back venomously. The back of the van was big enough so it took the captain two steps to get to Alex side. Alex was still lying uncomfortable on the floor since he had one man sitting on his waist. The teen felt Eagle stiffen beside him as the captain stared down on the helpless form of Alex.

Captain, as Alex had unconsciously started thinking of him, kneeled slowly next to Alex. His heart was racing and he did not know what to expect as the man looked at him.

"Did you men have any trouble with this one?" he asked to no one in particular. There was silence before Freskey answered eagerly.

"Oh yes sir, took four of us just to hold him down. Feisty little brat, and then his dog bit Conner. Henson shot the mutt and the brat quit fighting." Freskey was laughing now.

At hearing that, Wolf glanced at Alex in shock. The teen knew what Wolf was surprised about. He had not known about Harley getting shot. Hatred rose up in Alex for Freskey and his nostrils flared while his breathing got heavier. How dare they talk about Harley like that. The dog had tried to protect Alex and they had shot him down.

Captain had seen the way Wolf glanced at Alex and the flush rising in the teen's face. He smiled thinly, "Aww, did the little boy care for his puppy?" he asked quietly in a mock-caring tone.

Captain chuckled. "And then the poor doggie got hurt and the little boy's heart was broken," he said. The men around them laughed and Alex tried to ignore their taunting by looking at his friends.

Wolf looked sad and angry as he stared down. Eagle was watching Alex who still had his head resting on the floor.

Captain moved suddenly, his hand had come out to grasp at Alex's neck quicker then a snake. The small talk and laughter from the four other men in the van stopped as they

waited to see what would happen.

"If you think watching your dog die hurt, you haven't seen anything yet, Rider," the man whispered. Wolf and Eagle were watching Captain cautiously. He did have their teammate's neck in his grasp, after all.

"I still have to punish you for putting glitches in my plan and injuring my men," Captain said. His finger traced over Alex's jaw softly, but it felt like a deadly touch to the teen.

Alex shook off the touch. Captain let him but then punched him in the face. Alex was just blinking from that when he was hit again, and then once more.

He heard Wolf pitching a silent fit involving shaking his head and glaring, Eagle was looking down on Alex worriedly.

Captain was smirking at Wolf and rubbing his fist. "There's more where that came from. No one messes with my men and gets away with it," he said almost pleasantly. Wolf just glared at him and Eagle's attention was on Alex. Snake was quiet but no doubt listening intently.

Captain settled back in his seat and the talking started again. Alex's head hurt and he saw white spots every time he closed his eyes which were burning.

It was just a few minutes later that they pulled to a stop and the men immediately got out. Alex had his eyes closed and he was grabbed roughly and literally dragged out of the car. He did not have time to find his footing before someone had grabbed him around his waist and thrown the teen over there shoulder.

Alex would have yelped if it was not for the duct tape. He struggled lightly but was subdued as his leg was slapped hard enough to just hurt. So the struggling stopped. Alex was starting to get lightheaded, anyway.

They were at some kind of warehouse, or that's what Alex thought. It was not small enough and too fancy to be considered a warehouse, though. The building was also well protected. A wire fence ran down one way until Alex could not see anymore.

Of course it was hard to tell details upside down. Alex was starting to feel sick, so he shut his eyes against the world. I wish my hands were free so I could at least hold on to something, Alex thought as he was bounced around.

Blood was rushing to his head and his face felt heated. It seemed like forever before he was flipped of the shoulder and shoved to the ground. The rest of the K Unit was shoved down next to him and made to sit back to back. Alex blinked at the difference in views and tried to get his bearings.

He was being tied up to the other members of the K Unit. Trying and failing to move his arms, Alex sighed which was difficult with the tape over his mouth.

Captain came to Alex and with one swift movement ripped the tape off. Alex could not hold in a gasp at the pain. Any hairs that had been under the tape were now gone and the area around Alex's mouth throbbed.

Captain smiled. "I'll come back to…talk to you later," he said before moving off and out of the room. Alex heard the tape being removed from hid friend's mouths as well before they were left alone in the small room.

"Cub?" Wolf's voice was scratchy and rough but it was filled with concern.

"Yeah," Alex said hoarsely.

"You okay? They didn't cause anything serious, did they?"

"Naw," Alex said. "I just got some brusises, they'll heal. You guys okay?"

"I'm fine. Mad as hell, but fine," Wolf growled. Eagle was nodding, and Alex glanced at him to see that the man looked angry, as well.

"I think they chipped my tooth," Snape said in irratation.

"How did they find us anyway?" Fox asked as he squirmed uncomfortably.

"So much for being safe there," Wolf said with a snort. Alex frowned and wiggled his hands while the K Unit complained to each other. Earlier Alex had held his hands stiffly together. Relaxing them now he found that he had a little room to move around in the bonds.

The rope was rubbing against his hands and wrists. It hurt, but if he could get loose it would be worth it. "Stop moving, Cub!" Wolf snapped suddenly.

"I'm trying to get free," Alex said calmly and he could almost hear Wolf roll his eyes.

"I've been in this situation before and I know that if they tie you as tight as they have me, we will never get--"

His grim sentence was cut off as one of Alex's hands came free and he said, "I'm loose."

Wolf glanced at him in surprise, "Really?" he said hopefully. Alex nodded and tried to free the other hand. It was caught in between the two ropes. Knowing that he only had a little time, Alex started pulling.

It was a half a minute later that he got free with a gasp. The skin on the top of his hand had been scrubbed off by the rope. It was bleeding as Alex leaned forward to get the ropes of his legs.

"Hurry, Cub," Snake said urgently. Alex did not take the time to reply. He knew how little time they had before they were found, his hands were shaking at the thought.

Finally his legs were free and Alex turned to face Wolf and untie his arms. It was complicated trying to tell which ropes were binding who's arms, but Alex got Wolf free and immediately turned to Snake.

Wolf had untied himself when Alex had untied Snake. Together they undid Eagle, who flinched as the rope scratched against his raw wrist. They were all free and glancing at each other they went to the door. Just to find it locked.

Wolf swore and started kicking the door. Alex ignored the man while Fox tried to get him to calm down. The room was empty except for the ropes they had left on the floor.

"Wolf! Stop it you idiot!" Fox snapped and Wolf stopped, but only in surprise. Fox was usually the one who kept his cool. "If they open the door without knowing we're loose, then we can take them because they won't be prepared."

Fox's explanation to Wolf was said slowly and clearly. Wolf was slightly pink but he nodded. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay Wolf-man," Eagle said clapping Wolf on the back.

"Let's just hope they did not hear," Snake said.

A few minutes later the door was opened. The guard had just enough time to take in the ropes lying on the floor before Alex's side kick to the gut knocked him out.

"Nice, Cub," Snake commented as they lifted the two guns from the guard. Alex did not reply because the next second more than five guards entered the room

More followed them a few shots were fired off in the K Unit's defense before they were overtaken. Alex had just fired and he watched in amazement as the bullet shredded through one guard's chest.

He was brought to his knees as he watched the guard fall. Alex had actually killed one of them. But what surprised Alex was the lack of feeling. He felt nothing at the man's death. Did that mean he was becoming a killer?

Alex was lifted to his feet and taken out of the room by himself. "Where are you taking him!" Alex heard Fox snap before the door was shut behind him.

There was no blindfold to keep him from seeing his surroundings this time. The hallway was a bright white. It reminded him of a hospital.

His hands had been bound again and the guards had the sharp point of a gun pressed into the small of his back. There did not seem to be any escape this time.

**A/N:** So **PLEASE** tell me what you guys thought. I really liked this chapter, the plot thickens, lol. I finally get a shot at writing action. Tell me how I did. I'm still looking for members to join my yahoo group although I send a big thank you to the people that have joined. Time to thank the reviewers.

**Rose-Aislin**, It's funny you should mention Ian's behavior towards Alex, I was going to have him mean and cold like some fics I love. But sweet Ian won me over, I'm glad I did not follow the crowd now, lol. **Lady Shadow of Time, Bookflower, Gold is Power, PsychoWing**, Thank you, I'm trying to get them closer together, they want to keep fighting though! Lol. **Fat Toad, Irish-hailsy,** Cool! You got an account, any stories you going to write? Straight A and B's, (beams) good job. Thanks for pointing out those mistakes! **BelleBooTwilight**, Yay for summer! Glad you liked the chapter, Scorpia is here, (wicked laugh). **Jusmine**, I don't think there will be any more videos, sorry. Psychic eh? Then tell me this, how much wood can a wood chuck chuck? **Kayli, XsuicideXkittyX, Lee Pyro, Swabloo**, (gasp) it was a long chapter. Some people, (snicker). Your name does not come from a card game does it? Just curious, thanks for reviewing! **Enda**, Lol, actually I meant how the dog goes and dies in the book, lol. But your right as well. Thank you for reviewing. **Aimed Mischeif, Kurlethawk2, digmist, JK Mafia**, Hey, thanks for one of the best reviews ever! Running commentary, sigh, they rock. Thank you for joining my yahoo group. I was excited to see someone I knew on there. **FlitShadowFlame**, **beachbum454**, Nope, video's are gone. Ace, Lol! Your going to sick my own character on me? How evil, lol. Thank you for your review. **Carsinya,** Are they not horrible for doing that to Alex? Too bad Scorpia is back, I would have Alex take revenge. Maybe die their hair pink while they are sleeping? **HidingInACorner, Kaisaan**, Thank you! Keep your prediction in mind, the story is not over yet, (wink). **AleksandryaGregonovitch, Alex-rider-girl, Alyzabeth Tyler**, They did not run fast enough, thanks. **Mizu1411**, I don't think they will meet Tom. Unless there is a sequel. **Rasgara**, Thanks for joining and for your review! **Orishgoddess**, It was my favorite chapter so far, thank you for your beautiful review. **Mystery gal, SilentKiller1**, So many reviews, thanks for your thoughts. **Hylian-dragoness**, Hope the action was okay. Love it, not sure if I can write it though. **She Weapon1 a.k.a. AD**, I had hoped it would be fun to read. Glad you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for the bloody brilliant review. **Dobbygrl, call me richardson**, Demanding aren't you? (wink) **Ladylookslikeadude. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Slight violence.

_Alex was lifted to his feet and taken out of the room by himself. _

"_Where are you taking him!" Alex heard Fox snap before the door was shut behind him._

_There was no blindfold to keep him from seeing his surroundings this time. The hallway was a bright white. _

_It reminded him of a hospital._

_His hands had been bound again and the guards had the sharp point of a gun pressed into the small of his back. There did not seem to be any escape this time._

Alex was led down the corridor and around many corners. He knew he was getting farther and farther away from his unit with every step. _If I did get away from these goons, I probably won't be able to find them,_ Alex thought.

He did know that the K Unit would _want _him to get away. They were not selfish, and these men wanted to kill Alex.

If he did manage to escape somehow _and_ get out of the building alive, would he be able to contact MI6 before he was caught again? Scorpia wanted him more than they wanted the K Unit. They would definitely come after him. Would MI6 disappoint him as they had done in the past?

Alex bit his lip in worry as another thought about why _not _to escape entered his mind. Would the K Unit be hurt for his escape? Scorpia certainly would not be happy he escaped but would they take it out on Alex's friends?

Alex was better off not thinking about it. The chances for escape were slim; his arms were being held tight behind him. So tight that it strained his arms and hurt. Alex clenched his teeth to keep his expression pain free.

Alex was steered into a room. The first thing he saw was Captain as he entered the room. He looked at the man in undisguised worry. Captain hated him and he had promised to get back at Alex since he had injured one of his men.

Alex was thrown in the room and then left with alone Captain. The man smiled at him and the next thing Alex knew he was being slammed up against the wall. His head hit the wall with a dull thud and Alex gasped.

Captain smiled at him wolfishly. "You got a lot more where that came from," he whispered and his sour breath made the teen turn away.

With his fists clenching the fabric of Alex's shirt, Captain threw him to the floor. Alex landed on his side since his arms were tied and he was struggling to sit up when he was kicked.

The steel toe of Captain's boot dug into Alex side and he immediately curled up. He tucked his head as close to his chest as he could and pulled his legs up. Captain rained down kicks and punches onto Alex's body.

He never had a chance to protect himself. With his hands tied like they were and his lightheadedness, he was defenseless. And Captain took advantage of that fact with enthusiasm.

"Coward!" Alex bit out as the man stopped to take deep breaths. It was probably not the smartest thing to say in the circumstances, as Alex found out.

With a snarl of rage, Captain plucked him of the ground and punched him in the face. Alex stumbled backwards and almost fell except for Captain holding him up by the neck of his shirt.

"You're not going to get to me like that kiddy," Captain said punching him in the gut.

Alex glared. "Got you. Coward equals pain. Is that right…freak?" It was a stupid game that Alex always played when he was in dangerous situations. Make the bad guy madder then heck, they lost their concentrating then Alex got away. This time was different though, this time he had to save people at the same time.

But Captain brought back his fist and was going to give Alex a black eye to remember…but the door opened. "Stop," a voice commanded and Captain let go of Alex.

Without Captain to hold him up, Alex collapsed. He was breathing heavily when he was grabbed by two sets of arms. Blood dribbled from his nose into his slightly open mouth. Alex could not breathe through his nose anymore so he was stuck looking like he was.

"I think you made you point, Gable," a voice said dryly.

"I hope so, Mr. Rothman," Captain, who was apparently Gable, said. But then Alex brain caught up with his ears and his head swung to the door and his eyes widened.

The man in the doorway was not old. He was in his twenties and bore a stunning resemblance to his mother. "Rothman…" Alex muttered confusedly. The man in the doorway crossed his arms and stared at Alex. "I can see why my mother would underestimate you," he said.

His voice was smooth, his hair neatly combed and his casual suit fit perfectly. "Thought you were finished with Rothmans, didn't you, Rider?'

Alex did not speak and Rothman turned and left having the guards drag the teen behind him. _What is going on_? Alex thought before he was dragged into an office and shoved painfully into a chair.

Rothman was sitting in his seat and staring at Alex. The teen glared back but the blood still on his face made him look more pathetic.

"Julia Rothman said she did not have any children. Was she to embarrassed to mention you?" Alex snarled as he gripped the arms of the chair. He was full of pains; it hurt to even breath thanks to his bruised stomach.

Rothman did not take the bait but his lips twitched. "My mother was protecting my life when she did not mention me, Rider. Being a member of Scorpia is more difficult than you may think. Getting in is tough but no one gets out until they're dead. Too much information was revealed to her: hideouts, different headquarters, and private information only the best of Scorpia knew. If Mother had to leave the organization, they would have killed off her family as well. I did not exist so I could not be killed. Do you not see the brilliance of her mind?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "She was a psycho," he said slowly. Rothman looked unsurprised.

"It takes someone stronger to understand how her mind worked," he said staring into Alex's eyes.

Alex just glared. "What do you want with me?" he asked. Rothman chuckled. It was not a happy laugh and Alex tried to suppress a shiver.

"My dear Alex," Rothman said as he leaned over the desk. His words just loud enough for Alex to hear. "I'm going to kill you."

Alex had been suspecting that but it did not make his heart slow down any. "This is a revenge thing?"

Rothman tilted his head. "Yes, It is. I want to kill you. You should be happy to know that you have caused Scorpia a lot of trouble. They want you dead, almost as much as I do."

"Why did you have to capture the others if it was only me you wanted?" Alex questioned. Rothman shrugged.

"They are just accessories, and I only wanted you. I sent someone out to kill you. He managed to burn down that excuse for a house but you were almost unharmed."

Alex nails were digging into the arms of the leather chair. He was furious. That 'excuse for a house' had been the only home he had known and now because of this man--it was gone.

Rothman sighed. "If you want something done right…."

"I hope you didn't have a hard time finding my location?" Alex snapped.

Rothman crossed his arms. "It was difficult but I had my men find you."

"All this time you were searching for little old me. I'm flattered," Alex drawled. The room was windowless and the door behind him was shut. There was no way to get out quickly if he needed to.

Rothman laughed this time with humor. "I'm not obsessed with you, Rider; I've had my hands full with a client. You will learn plenty more about that later."

Alex frowned. _What does he mean_? Alex questioned himself sharply. Was it a threat? He did not speak and Rothman mashed a little black button on his desk. "Send someone here to escort Rider out," he said.

A second later the door was open and Alex's arms were grasped roughly. "This isn't the end," he snarled at Rothman.

Rothman shook his head. "The end is a lot closer then what you may think." The man then chuckled as if he had told a private joke.

Alex was dragged out of the room and Rothman door shut with a snap.

………………………………..

He was thrown back in the room with the K Unit a few minutes later. Alex had landed on his side and his ribs complained with shooting pains.

The teen pulled himself off the ground with help from Wolf and wiped the dirt from his jeans. A hand was placed gently on his arm and he looked up, Fox cursed as he looked Alex over.

"Who did it?" Snake asked pulling Alex shirt up to look at his ribs. Frowning, Alex let the doctor for the unit look him over. "Captain," he said. "Or as Rothman called him, Gable."

Snake froze, Wolf's fits clenched, and Eagle blinked. Fox was the first to reply, "As in Julia Rothman?" His question was incredulous. After all, Alex had told them the mad woman was dead.

Alex shook his head. "She is dead, and it's her son. And he's just as nutty as his mommy."

Wolf shook his head. "I bet he's not happy with you," he said.

Eagle rolled his eyes. "I'm the one who is supposed to state the obvious Wolf-man."

Snake made Alex sit and he obliged happily. His legs were feeling weak, not that he would mention it.

The rest of the K Unit sat as well, surrounding Alex in a protective circle. "So, does he have some extremely cliché plan about how to bring you to death's door?"

Alex snorted at Eagle's question. "He said he's going to kill me, but not how."

Eyebrows crinkled in a thoughtful expression made the K Unit look at each other. "What is it, Cub?" Wolf asked.

"Rothman mentioned a client, said I would learn more about it later. Think that has something to do with the way he will try to kill me?"

"Sounds like it, but you never know," Snake said quietly. He pressed his fingers into Alex's ribs and the teen hissed.

Fox bit his lip. "Are they broken?" he asked.

Snake was already shaking his head. "No, just bruised badly."

Wolf was smiling wickedly and he got a questioning look from Fox. "Good, we're going to need Alex's help when we kick their--"

Alex cut him off with a laugh. "Ow," he muttered but there was a light grin on his face.

Snake helped him up, although it was not necessary. "Laughter is good for you, but maybe you should try not to until we can get out of here. Your ribs need to be bandaged and treated; they could still be cracked if they are not broken."

Alex leaned against the wall, "Thank you, doctor," he muttered a cheeky half-smile on his face.

"Brat," Snake said fondly.

"Such love and compassion," Eagle said with a mock sniffle.

"If you ladies would kindly shut up," Wolf said. They quieted. "Good, now how do we get out of this mess?"

They looked at each other blankly. The room was empty, even the ropes they had broken through were gone now. The door was locked. "Anybody got a hairpen?" Alex asked.

Wolf sneered while shaking his head in exsaperation. "I left mine at home," Fox said with a wink.

"His dolly's hair was _really _messy without them," Eagle muttered.

"They can't do anything to us that are worse then being stuck in a small room with you guys," Wolf said.

"He loves us!" Alex exclaimed in happiness and Wolf growled.

"Watch it, kid," he said. Voices from the hallway made them quiet; nothing could be understood through the door. Alex sighed and walked over to it.

Getting on his knees he peered under the door. Maybe if he could fit his fingers under the bottom. The door wiggled but there was no possible way to open the door by just wiggling it.

Sitting back on his heels, Alex turned. "I guess we just wait."

Wolf lay down on the floor. "Looks like we don't have a choice," he said.

**A/N: **Yes, I killed of Harley. Bad, bad author, I know, lol. The next chapter will be longer. Time to thank the reviewers!

**Irish-hailsy, **You have not given up because of this story? Aww, that's sweet. LOL, I know what you mean about the karate kicks. Why can't everyone just say Alex kicked the man in the gut? So much easier, lol. **Aimed mischief, **Thanks. **green girl, **Thank you for reviewing!** swabloo, **Cool, thank you. **Gold is power, call me Richardson, kurleyhawk2, fattoad, BDP, **Thank you for taking the time to review. **Rasgara, PyschoWing, Lay of Tinuviel,** Lol, thanks.** BrazilianPrincess, OddlySane, Enda, **Thank you Enda, hope I updated quick enough and you have not died in anticipation. **XsuicideXkittyX, Bookflower, **Gladiator? Would of been horrible for me, especially since I only know an inkling about it, lol. Thank you. **ladylookslikeadude, rid3r chick, **Yes, you're right. Harley had to go, and it adds angst, lol. **mystery gal, Jusmine, **Smart butt, lol. Yes, I love my cliffies, Harley had to go…but who knows. He may return. _Might_ be a sequel, I make no promises. But I am thinking seriously about Faint Hearted having a sequel. **CMT1992, **Thanks! **Jack of Trade, **Hehe, thank you. **Nyxelestia, Kayli, alex-rider-girl, supernatural love, Alyzabeth Tyler, **Thank you. **BelaBooTwilight, **Grr, stupid subscription thingy. Oh well, thank you ever so much for reviewing! **randomness, Lady Shadow of Time, **I tried, glad it shows. Thanks. **Jungle Jim, oirishgoddess, **I was writing my HP story at the same time as writing this, lol. Sorry, I'll go fix it. Thasnk you so much! **digiMist, **You did not have to wait to long, but it will be two weeks before I update again, like usual. **SheWeapon1 aka AD, **(beams) Thank you! I'll try to get the next chapter better then this one. **Rose-Aislin, **There not the only ones in trouble…lol. Thank you for reviewing! **Mizu1411, **Wolf's sadistic twin…I might use that if you don't mind. Thank you! **hylian-dragoness, **I'm not telling, hehe. Thanks. **kakashilover1357, **I used to have a time limit, I feel your pain, lol. Thanl you very much for reviewing! **LocoCocoCoca, Kaisaan, **Yes, I hear and I agree. How they had guns, if I remember right they took one from the guards. I'll have to go check that and make sure it's not a boo boo. Yes, surprising Wolf is always fun. **ninja woman, **Thank you. **SilentKiller1, **Because I'm evil, (wicked laugh).


	12. Chapter 12

Alex was shaken awake by Wolf's hand when the door was opening.

He'd fallen asleep in between Wolf and Fox as they were waiting, his head lying on Fox's shoulder. When he'd woken up, he had been slightly embarrassed at first, but Fox seemed lost in thought when Alex woke up, and so he didn't comment.

_At least I don't drool in my sleep, _Alex thought, thankfully.

Waking up to find a lake of drool on his cheek was not on his list of things to do. And doing it in front of Wolf was even lower on that list.

The door opened and guards came in, three in all. They did not tie the K-Unit's or Alex's hands, but told them to stand and walk out the door.

Wolf put a protective hand on Alex's shoulder. Alex looked at him in surprise, but Wolf's hard eyes were trained on the guards, and a dangerous look was on his face.

Multiple guns were pointing at their backs, so they didn't dare try anything.

To them, the K Unit was going to die anyway. It would just be a little ahead of schedule.

Fox positioned himself next to Alex, being careful not to get too close lest the guards think something was going on.

They were led out of the room, and it was the first time they got to really look around. Too bad there was nothing to see.

The décor was boring: cream paint, no paintings or anything to tell them where they were.

They were led down some stairs and into a wide room. There was a wide cherry wood table, and black leather seats were lined around it.

Three of those chairs were filled. The people seated looked powerful, Alex felt small.

Rothman was sitting in one, looking rather bored. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth when Alex entered. "Mr. Rider and the rest of the K Unit," Rothman said pleasantly.

"Please sit down and I'll introduce you to my employers," Rothman said, with a wave at the two people sitting next to him.

A man and a woman sat there, staring at them. Alex took in as much detail as he could as one guard pushed him to a seat. "Do sit, Alex. We don't bite," Rothman said evenly.

_I doubt that, _Alex thought warily as scrutinized the woman.

She had black hair, some of it was pulled back to be pinned at the back of her head, and an olive complexion. Her black eyes pierced Alex's. "This is Sarana Bianchi," Rothman said indicating the woman who was tapping her fingers on the wood.

The K Unit sat down as well, with some 'urging' from the guards.

"And this," Rothman said waving at the man, "is Samuel Krause."

The man had a head a goatee which he was stroking as he looked over Alex. "_This _is the one you have trouble with?" the man asked, contemptuously, through a thick German accent.

"Now, now Krause. Don't judge him by his size or his age," Rothman said amusedly. Alex bristled and glared at them hatefully.

"I want you to explain your genius plan to Mr. Rider and his little friends. I want this to be the last thing he remembers before I kill him." Chuckling, Rothman smiled at his employers.

"I would kill his little friends in front of him, gouge his eyes out and _then _kill him if he were causing me trouble," Bianchi said thoughtfully. Rothman chuckled at Eagle's horrified expression.

"Yes, I thought of that. The other idea won though. So if you would…."

Krause shook his head. "You should join us, Rothman. I like the way you think."

Bianchi leaned forward a little, "I'm sure you have heard of Shire Incorporated, Mr. Rider?"

Alex frowned.

"Yeah, I have…why?"

He glanced at the K Unit. They were watching the events take place with wary eyes.

"More than three months ago, we bought the company," Krause said with a contented

look.

Bianchi cleared her throat. "_I _bought the company, and it is I who has put the most into this. I came up with the plan. Krause came to me later, "she said.

Krause seemed a little flustered. Alex blinked, "Why--"

"It was not in the news because we asked that it was not revealed at the moment…it fact, we asked rather forcefully," Bianchi said with a delicate laugh.

Krause smiled and nodded, seeming to get over his earlier feelings.

"What does this have to do with us?" Wolf asked stiffly.

Bianchi frowned. "It involves everyone," she snapped. "Forget about yourselves, you will be dead in a matter of hours. This has to do with everyone on the planet, the entire population and most of all, Mother Earth!"

"Okay," Snake said slowly in the silence that followed. Eagle snorted and Bianchi stood up in fury.

"You think this a joke! You will not be laughing soon; time is running out for the human race. Every second we get closer--" Bianchi was cut off as Krause pulled her back down.

"They do not matter. Their bodies will be the first to help fertilize the ground," Krause said softly.

Alex stared at them. _They're planning on leaving my body to rot somewhere! _He thought incredulously.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

_And while you're at it, __**what **__are you doing? _Alex thought.

Did they have a reason for their insanity? How many of the 'I'm going to take over the world' types did? Alex thought back to his adventures and face offs with lunatics.

_Herod Sayle had been the revenge type, _Alex thought. _Grief was probably a 'misunderstood' scientist who had decided that he would 'show them all' by taking over the world with his Mini-Me's, _Alex thought sarcastically.

So what was their reason?

Bianchi took a deep breath, "We are doing this for Mother Earth," she said softly spreading her hands before clasping them again.

Alex frowned. _What the bloody hell is she talking about? _he thought glancing at the K Unit to see if they understood.

Snake looked understanding bit shocked. He was just staring at Bianchi with horror in his eyes. Wolf, Fox and Eagle were stuck with Alex.

"What do you mean?" Fox asked warily.

Bianchi's expression hardened to a sneer but Krause is the one who spoke. "Pollution, waste and garbage that destroy our oceans and kill off the animals, it's too much. Something must be done – the earth must rest. The stress on earth is--" Krause stopped and closed his eyes. He seemed at loss for words with his speech.

But every word was spoken with conviction.

"Someone had to do something, and we were those people," Bianchi said firmly.

There was silence. "What _are _you doing though?" Snake asked. "I understand _why _you're doing it; you're earth worshipers or pantheists, right?"

Bianchi blinked. "I prefer followers of Gaia, but you have the main idea."

"Right," Snake mumbled the disbelief clear in his voice. Bianchi shot a cold glare at him, but Snake just stared back calmly.

"In five days we have sent out two hundred and fifty truckloads of water to countries in need," Krause said. "We are also flying and shipping more than eighty million gallons to major cities."

"In a few days the food and water will be released to the public," Bianchi said.

"That's so nice of you, but what--?" Wolf began to say.

"I was getting there," Krause interrupted sharply.

"The water contains leiser Mörder, a poison created by my exceptional team of scientists," Krause said. "It kills within a day," he said with a pleased smile.

"And of course, by the time we're done there won't be anybody to search for the cause," Bianchi said quietly, looking at her nails with a sly smile on her face.

"They have also added the poison in corn, soybeans, potatoes, tomatoes, wheat…." Rothman said to Alex. The look on his face was eager. He wanted to see Alex break, to discover that there was no hope for them, or for the human race.

"And since we're now one of the biggest manufactures in the world, our produce is sent to every corner of the world," Bianchi said.

The teen could not believe it. "But…how do you put poison in vegetables? Insert it into each vegetable?" That would take so long it was not even worth the amount of people it would kill.

Krause laughed, "No, no, that would take too much time. We genetically engineer each seed to have the poison already in them. It only takes a little to do a lot of damage. The farmer plants the seed, the plant grows, and whatever it produces is a weapon for us."

Alex gaped at them. "You're going to murder _thousands _of people," he said disbelievingly.

"_Millions _Rider, we are going to kill millions." Krause said to Alex.

"And not just in people. Animals will die as well; we are poisoning their food supply as well. The corn and wheat helps feed them. The ones that don't eat meal with be killed as well, there will be no humans to feed them anymore."

Bianchi's words scared Alex. He breathed in deeply and swallowed past his dry throat. His lips felt cracked, a headache was just starting to show as well.

He thought of all the people that would die. Jack and his friends, then there were the billions that he did not know.

They would die, never knowing the reason why.

And Alex was helpless to stop it, helpless to do anything.

"Someone will know who did it," Alex said coolly. Even though he was calm on the outside, inside he was more then a little frightened.

Krause waved his hand like he was brushing away Alex's statement. "There will be those that survive of course. We want the earth's population cut down dramatically but we do not want to kill of the entire human race."

Bianchi nodded, "Someone must be left behind to take care of the earth. Some farmers will likely survive. The ones that save the seeds from last years plants instead of buying new ones. Their seeds will not be genetically engineered, so no poison."

Krause held up a hand, "There will be others though that notice the deaths around them before eating the food. Those people will cause mobs, hunting for food that will not be the death of them."

"The farmers that have the food will likely be killed for it. The mobs will not think ahead, they will eat the produce and probably not plant any to eat later. Once all the food is gone, they will have nothing left. Mankind will be reduced to animals," Bianchi said.

"But then who will be left to worship your--deity or whatever it is you worship?" Snake asked.

"We will still be here," Krause said gesturing to himself, Bianchi and Rothman.

"And some people live in solitude. No one knows where they are so why would they go look for them? The mobs will only go after something if they know it's there. The ones hidden will be fine. They will survive, along with us," Krause finished.

Alex was thinking hard._ If they make it so all the produce is inedible, what will they survive on? _

"How will you survive if there is nothing left to eat?" Alex asked sharply.

Rothman smiled, "I have hideouts all along this area Rider. They have more food than you can imagine stocked in them. Did you really think I was unprepared?"

Of course Rothman would be prepared, he was not an idiot. He was a survivor, like Alex, but so much different from him as well.

"How can you be sure this will work?" Fox asked.

Eagle nodded, "Is it worth risking?" he asked.

Alex knew what they were doing, trying to plant doubt. It could help them but Alex did not think it would work with these people. They knew what they wanted, and they knew how to get it. The only people who wanted to stop them were at their mercy.

_No one is able to stop them,_ Alex thought.

The guards were behind him. Guns in their hands and ready to fire at any time.

"We know it will work because we tested it on a prison camp. Everyone we fed it to die within a few hours. The press was told it was because of a sickness going around the prison," Bianchi said with a small laugh.

"Your all crazy!" Alex snapped. He felt trapped and alone, the K Unit watched him worriedly. "It won't work, you'll kill yourself in the act of trying!" Alex spat harshly.

"It works, Rider, there's no doubt about it…but, just to rid any doubt you might have. Would you like us to one of your friends here as an example?"

"No!" Alex gasped his eyes wide and scared. Eagle looked at the two people worriedly.

Wolf looked ready to fight and Snake was collected, not saying anything but observing everything.

Fox glanced at Alex and met his eyes. His face told Alex not to worry. There was no way Alex _could not _worry. Still, it gave him a little comfort to know that at least someone was keeping there head in the situation.

Rothman chuckled. "We agreed on letting them see the destruction first. Wouldn't that be more fun? And I don't want a mess in my office."

Krause laughed and smiled at Rothman while Alex just stared.

"Yes, we'll let them live for now." He said in a reluctant tone.

Alex narrowed his eyes. "That makes me feel _so _much better."

Rothman looked at Krause, who had clenched his fists. "Doesn't mean you can't play with him for a while."

Wolf bared his teeth when Krause smiled and stood. "I think I'll take you up on that offer, Mr. Rothman."

Alex stood up abruptly as Krause made his way around the table. Arms grabbed him from behind by the guards. Wolf stood up as well. "Sit down," Rothman said lazily. There was a gun in his hand and it was pointing at Wolf.

Wolf was hesitant. He glanced at Alex, who was still being held tightly. Alex nodded at him, trying to tell the man to sit down and that he would be fine.

_I'm lying to him, _Alex thought. Krause did not seem the kind to go easy on someone, he would probably beat Alex until he could not walk.

_Wolf can get the rest of the K Unit out, _Alex thought. It gave him hope thinking that at least they would not suffer the same fate as him. But whether or not that would happen Alex would probably never know.

Krause made it around the table and grabbed Alex by the arm in a vice-like grip. Alex was pulled out of the room and down the hall. Krause's legs were long and Alex struggled to keep up, lest he fall.

"Stay here," the man snapped at the guards before pushing Alex into a room and slamming door behind him.

Alex turned to face the man. He was ready to fight.

**A/N: **Don't look at me like that, I plan on updating soon…so please put the knifes away. Thank you. Rothman is rather young, but I do believe Julia was old enough to have him when she did. They're trying to take over the world younger and younger these days, sigh.

**Jusmine, Crystal Roads, NorthernDreams, SilentKiller1, Mizu1411, Gold is power, Bookflower, Irish-hailsy, **Thanks for pointing out the Americanism. I'll change that, and thanks for your review, it made me laugh. **Wolfmonster, OddlySane, HidingInACorner, Kayli, greengirl6, **Sudden shift? Uh oh, I was not aware of a sudden shift in their relationship. Is that bad? **BellaBooTwilight, **I'm afraid it's more then just a little craziness, lol. Thanks. **Rasgara, Jack of Trade, **Do you believe in resurrection or miracles? (grin) **Fattoad, Tallidaygani, Nyxelestia, **Thank you so much for pointing out those. I'll fix them, and I'm glad you liked it. **Enda, **Thank you dear, your thoughts are much appreciated! **Ninjawoman, **Thank you. **RiGhTeO, **Who says there going to escape? **Kaisaan, **Authoress, I like that, lol. I'll ask you the same think I asked Jack of Trade, do you believe in miracles or resurrection? Your review was great, glad yo make you crack up, hehe. **Mystery Gal, **Thanks Gal, (smile). **Alex-rider-girl, SheWeapon1 a.k.a AD, **Not person, persons, lol. Thanks bunches! **AleksandryaGregonvitch, babu'sbff, Orishgoddess, **No escape plan, for once Alex is not prepared. How will this end? (turns on scary music) **rid3r chick, **Thank you for your review. **Shukuun, **Thank you, I love it when I come across new readers. Welcome and I'm glad your enjoying the story. **Supernaturallove, **(Beams) I would be proud but you know the say, 'pride cometh before the fall' or something like that. I'm blissful that this is one of your favorite stories. I don't get a lot of compliments like that. **digMist, xLzR, **Yes, I'm pretty sure she was. She had a thing for Alex's father, and no, he is not Alex's older brother or something. Just to let you know, lol. **Lady Shadow Of Time, PlayKate, **Lol, thank you. **Clemence, **No Yassen, I'm sorry. He is in another story of mine and he plays a huge part in a story I'll be posting soon called A Different Life. **kakashilover1357, **Thank you so much! **hylian-dragoness, **Oh ya? You wanna fight? I may not have a big dog but my three kitties will work just fine, Hehe. Thanks and I'm really glad the hairpin bit was funny. **Rose-Aislin, **Lol, I know what you mean. And thanks. **Keatlin, **Welcome back to the web. I assume by video references you mean the tapes the k unit was watching? They are just tapes about there missions, none of the story really involves the movie. Thank you for reviewing! **(No Name) **Drools, I love brownies. They remind me of my family, mostly sweet with a few nuts, lol. Thank you for your review!


	13. Chapter 13

Krause looked around the room, then he came over to Alex. The teen stiffened. He raised one arm warily.

"Listen closely," Krause said. Alex was so surprised that his arm dropped slightly and his eyes widened.

The man had no German accent now. His expression was serious, though, as he stared into Alex's eyes.

"Tonight, the door to the room where you're being kept will open. For exactly fifteen minutes the guards will be preoccupied. That is how much time you have to escape. You must reach MI6; they'll know what's going on. They don't know where I am; I lost all connection to them weeks ago."

Alex swallowed and looked at Krause. "You're a spy?" His brain tried to process that information. Could it be true? Or was this a trick like the one where Alex ended up in a huge tank with a giant squid?

"Yes, yes!" Krause said impatiently. "You must listen to me. Tonight I'll try to destroy their plans. I may be found out; if I die someone _must _warn MI6. I need you to be that person."

Alex nodded. "I-I'll try."

"You will not try, you will do it," Krause said firmly. "Millions of people depend upon it."

Alex took a breath. Everything was happening so fast. Things were blurry. "I'll do it," he said firmly.

Krause stared into his eyes as if looking for truth. He seemed to find it because he said, "Good." The man straightened up. "Now, I was supposed to come in here to beat you up for being an irritating brat. I don't think your unit will ever forgive me for it if I do so."

Alex bit his lip. "Rothman will be expecting bruises," he said reluctantly.

Krause sighed. "Sorry about this, Rider," he said before punching Alex.

His fist landed a hard punch to Alex's cheek, making the teen step back. "You could have warned me," he said through clenched teeth as he touched the mark on his cheek.

Krause shrugged. "I think that should be good enough. Just pretend that your ribs hurt. The person I play seems to be the kind that would kick you."

Alex nodded, still scowling.

"Okay," Krause said taking a breath. Then he grabbed Alex arms and tugged him to the door.

Throwing the door open, he threw Alex into the arms of the guards. Alex gasped and it was not for show. He was still feeling sore from the previous day's beating, and being thrown into men built like walls did not help.

They went back to the room, Alex pretended to limp. He saw one guard look appreciatively at Krause.

Entering the room, Wolf turned around in his seat. He glared at Krause when he saw Alex limping. He was undoubtedly thinking murderous thoughts, if Alex was judging his expression right.

He was pushed back over to the table. "Are you still feeling talkative, Alex?" Rothman asked.

Alex glared but shook his head slowly, Bianchi smiled at Krause. "Thank you for shutting him up," she said.

Alex did not meet the K Unit's worried expressions but looked over Rothman's head. He wondered how he was going to tell the K Unit about the escape. Was their room bugged?

"Take them back now. I'll see you tomorrow, Rider," Rothman said. The K Unit stood up, eager to get away from the psychos and their plans.

Limping all the way back to their room, Alex memorized the way to Rothman's office. Seeing a fire escape plan on the wall, Alex gasped in fake pain. He doubled over, gasping, the entire time. Straightening up, he leaned against the wall while the K Unit asked him what was wrong.

"I'm fine, really," he muttered turning slowly like he was trying to gather his wits and not show weakness. In truth he was studying the floor plan.

"Come on!" one guard said, roughly pushing Alex.

"Hey!" Wolf exclaimed pushing the man. "Give him a minute will ya!" Wolf's exclamation made the guard step back. And Wolf moved protectively to Alex's side and blocking the protesting guard from view.

"You okay?" Eagle asked as he sat on the ground next to Alex. The teen nodded, he was looking around the room. There were no cameras in sight and nothing for a bug to hide behind.

Did he dare risk telling them that he had an escape plan? _No, it could put us all in greater risk, _Alex thought. Krause's position as spy could be ruined. He was helping Alex out of the building, and the least the teen could do was keep his mouth shut for a few hours.

He had to keep acting like he was hurt, as well, without making Snake want to look at his injuries. Alex clenched his teeth as he sat up straighter. He was well aware of his unit watching him.

_They are _just like _mother hens, _Alex thought with a shake of his head. It was nice though to know someone _was _worrying about him. _No time to get mushy Alex, you got to keep a clear head, _the teen thought to himself.

"I wish they'd give us something to eat," Fox muttered after his stomach protested.

"Why feed us if they're just going to kill us a few hours later?" Wolf grumbled.

"I'm not sure I'd want to eat any food they give us anyway," Alex said in disgust.

Snake nodded. "I agree. It's logical though, that if they want us to see the deaths of millions, they're not going to kill us before we see it."

Fox shrugged. "It would still be weird to eat anything they give us," he said.

They went silent as the night droned on. There was no way to tell what time it was. There were no clocks, and no one was wearing a watch.

Then, the door to their cell opened. They looked to it, the K Unit expected to see someone in the doorway. Someone sneering at them and getting ready to take them out to their deaths.

Alex had stood up. His heart feeling light and his hands shaking with hope and anticipation.

There was still no one in the doorway. The K Unit was standing up, their expressions confused.

"What the hell…." Wolf said softly as he came forward and still saw no one.

Alex shook himself and made to the door. "Come on," he said not looking back at them.

This was there one chance to escape; he would be an idiot not to take it.

He heard a soft click as one of the K Unit shut the door to there room and hurried to catch up with their fast pace.

_I wish I had a gun, _Alex thought. He really needed to talk to MI6 about that rule. He knew how to handle one and he was in enough life-threatening situations to need one.

The hallway was empty; Alex just hoped it stayed that way until he could get to the exit.

"Cub, how do you know we're going in the right direction?" Eagle asked as he looked around. They were walking fast. It was almost a run but they were trying to keep there escape a secret for as long as possible.

It was quiet, terribly so and a chill made Alex shiver. They snuck through the halls quietly. Alex knew that the K Unit was trusting him to lead them to safety. He still had an image of the building in his mind.

They had turned down a hall when Alex heard voices.

"…Never expected this from you Krause, if that's your real name," Rothman's steady voice was saying.

Alex froze. Krause had been found out--he had to run, but his legs seemed to be frozen to the floor.

"I'm afraid I can't let you live--"

"You won't get away with this," Krause said and his calm tone surprised Alex. There was a sound of a gun being cocked.

"I'm afraid you won't get to live to see just how wrong you are," Rothman said.

Then he shot the gun.

The sound made Alex gasp and stumble back into someone. His hand covered his mouth and they waited to see if their position had been revealed.

A heavy thud told them that Krause's dead body had hit the floor. Wide eyes gazed at the door that separated the K Unit from Rothman. Alex felt dizzy and scared, a warm hand settled on his shoulder.

His back was pressing into Fox's chest as he tried to gain control of himself. Carefully, Fox put an arm around Alex's waist and pulled him silently away.

Alex was coming out of his shock as Fox dragged him away from the door. He had to get a hold on himself; this was not the time or the place for getting scared.

He took a breath and blinked at seeing the faces of the K Unit staring at him worriedly.

"Take another breath," Snake whispered to him. His slender hands tilted Alex's chin up so he could study his eyes.

"Don't go into shock right now, okay Cub? We need you," Snake said not breaking eye contact.

Alex took a stuttering breath and nodded. Snake took his hand away from Alex's chin and the teen turned.

He noticed a familiar door marked 'Testing' and walked down the hall seeing the K Unit glance at each other and follow. Their concerned gazes drilled into his back and Alex ignored the urge to look at them.

His moment of shock had the K Unit worried about him. It was understandable; he could endanger them all by letting his emotions get the better of him.

Alex made a sharp turn then ducked back behind the corner. There was no one in the hall, so he continued. The echoes of their hurried footsteps bounced off the walls. At each sound Alex winced. They sounded so loud.

Surely someone would hear them. There was an exit just…there.

Alex went through the door and once outside the door he felt a little bit safer. They were in a hallway made of stone, it must have been the workers exit because it was dreary and dark.

There was no light except for the moonlight they could see coming through an opening. Alex was almost surprised to see that there was no door. The hallway they were in was wide enough for someone to drive a small truck down.

They were so close and yet so far to freedom. A guard could see them and then it would be over. Alex broke into a run in the hall made by the cement wall and the wall of the building they had just exited.

Making it to the end of the wall and to the corner, Alex dared a quick look. No one was guarding the building; they were so close. There were lights on top of the building, it would be impossible to get to the fence Alex could see in the distance.

Smooth concrete surrounded the building making the lights that shone down onto it seem that much brighter.

Snake was looking around the corner of the wall as well, leaning over Alex's head. "Do _you _see anyone?" he asked pulling back.

Alex shook his head before realizing that they probably could not see the movement. "No," he said.

"I say we make a run for it," Fox said sounding reluctant. Alex could understood. Fox was the kind to think things through and not make rash actions.

But this was an emergency. And desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Agreed," Wolf muttered as he looked around nervously.

Alex bit his lip as he took another look around the wall. The wire fence in the distance had spikes on the top. It reminded Alex of the fences that lay around the prison near his house. They would have to be careful getting over the fence or it would skewer them.

"Okay, Alex goes first," Wolf said firmly. The K Unit nodded but Alex frowned. He did not want anyone being caught because he went first.

"Here," Eagle said taking of his blue jean coat. "Throw that over the top of the fence and you can get right on across."

Alex nodded taking the coat and a jacket that Wolf handed him. "Just to make sure the spikes don't go through Eagle's coat," the man said a bit uncomfortably.

Alex nodded at him with a light smile. Words were not needed and Alex turned. Throwing caution to the wind, he stepped out from his hiding place and made a run for the fence.

His legs flew as he pumped his arms, the fence was getting closer and Alex could hear his heart pounding. He kept thinking that someone was going to appear and grab him. It would be all over.

That never happened, though.

Alex reached the fence, threw the coat to the top, and jumped onto the fence. It wiggled under his weight as he grasped at it with his fingers.

His climbed it as quickly as possible. Alex's breathing seemed extra loud in his ears as he climbed onto the coats and then threw himself over. The K Unit had started running towards the fence as soon as he got over.

There was still no one around, but that did not make them climb any slower. Wolf was last and he grabbed the coats as he jumped over.

A loud ripping sound made Alex flinch. They had survived the escape but the coats were torn.

Together they started running. It was dark. There were woods outside the facility and the K Unit had to be careful while they ran.

Being careful not to trip, Alex bounded beside the others. There was no telling where they were. Alex recognized nothing--after all, it's not like he had time to stop and admire the view on his way in. The only thing on his mind was getting away from Rothman. It was obvious that they K Unit shared his thoughts.

Alex glanced up to see Eagle in the front. The man was jumping over fallen logs like his life depended on it. _Which it does, _Alex thought grimly.

That one pause in concentration had him stumbling. Fortunately for Alex, he had friends to watch over him. Snake pulled him back up before he could fall and pushed him back into a run. Alex was grateful and positive that he would keep his mind on the task.

**A/N: **There you go folks, see the update was not too far away. Sorry it was small. Did I surprise anyone with Krause being a spy? Or was it obvious? I'm updating late because I won't be able to tomorrow. Will you review so I can have something to look forward to when I get back?

Time to thank the reviewers! **alex-rider-girl, **Did I surprise you? Thanks. **Jumsine, **Thank you for pointing out that mistake and I'm glad you like the story. **Jack of Trade, **I appreciate your opinion so thanks for sharing it. I might go back and change some things when the story is finished. **shukuun, **Lol, toddlers. (shivers) **Kaisaan, **Here is your update. **PlayKate, Nyxelestia, **Sorry, I'm trying to get chapters up and I was hoping you would go over this chapter after I posted it because I really needed to post it. **Mizu1411, **Lol, thank you. **Rasgara, Bookflower, BellaBooTwilight, **(Grin) Thank you. **Rose-Aislin, keatlin, NorthernDreams, **Thanks but I don't mind if you point out the petty errors, it will help me grow. **Knyghtshade, **Because crazy people are so fun, I should know, (spins in a circle singing). **Irish-hailsy**, Lol, thanks. **digiMist, **Not overactive, just a good imagination. Yes, if this plan works there will be bodies everywhere. And imagine the smell, after all; who will be there to clean up? **Enda, **Thank you. **Oirishgoddess, **(Laughs and turns it up louder) 'activate his shoelace and send infra red signals to MI6' Hehe, no I don't think that will happen but it's cool. Especially the part where he kicks the bad guys butt. **OddlySane, **I can not answer that question. Sorry. **green girl6, **(shrugs) I don't know what they will do. Hehe. **Kayli, **Thank ye and I hope you stay addicted…that doesn't sound right, lol. **SilentKiller1, **'Run Allen'? Who is Allen? Lol, thank you for reviewing! **sofiaX, **(Smiles) Thank you. **Mystery gal, Drayconette, XsuicideXkittyX, Kurleyhawk2, Ponyboy65, **Yes! Please feel free to add it to your archive, I'm glad you think the story is good. **hylian-dragoness, **I have three, they are all skinny. Thank you for the compliment! **Ancient and Forever, **I adore your pen name, thanks for reviewing! **SheWeapon1, **Alex is going to need some support if he's going to stop it, let's cheer him on! Any cheerleaders around? Nope, oh well. Guess he'll just die. (chuckles). **sofiaX, **Welcome back, lol. Thanks. **Gold is Power, ninjawoman, **Thank you so much!


	14. Chapter 14

Alex was not certain when they stopped running and started walking instead. Even SAS men and teen spies get tired. Eagle was panting, and he'd dropped back some to be closer to the rest of his unit.

The woods were not as thick as the one around their first hiding place had been. Alex remembered those woods fondly and wished they had stayed there. Maybe they would not be in the situation they were in now if they'd stayed.

_Or it could have been worse, _Alex told himself. _They could have found us sooner. _

Their footsteps were loud in Alex's ears, and he held back a flinch every time he put foot down. It was cold, wherever they were, which was different from the weather that Alex had gotten used to.

_It is early spring now, and the temperature proves it, _Alex thought, shivering.

If he did not have to worry about the deaths of thousands, he would worry about the weird weather changes. The sound of breaking twigs had them all spinning around, already in defensive stances.

Alex held his breath as his eyes searched for the source of the sound in the dark that encompassed them.

What looked like a rabbit hopped out from under some brush and bounded away.

Fox let out a breath and stood straighter. Eagle chuckled and Wolf glared after the rabbit. Snake started walking with a small smile on his face.

"I bet we're the only unit to be scared by a little bunny rabbit," Eagle said dryly.

"I wasn't scared," Wolf muttered like a petulant child. Alex bit his lip to hold in a laugh but Eagle was not holding back and his laughter startled a few birds from their sleep.

"Shhh!" Snake hissed as he looked around warily. "It would be just the paranoid kind of thing Rothman would do and have cameras in here or something," he said in a traveling whisper.

Alex froze momentarily and looked around. His worried expression and searching eyes made Fox clap him on the shoulder. "I'm sure we'll be fine," he murmured.

Swallowing, Alex nodded and willed himself to believe Fox. Wolf stopped walking near the front and held out a hand as a sign for them to stop walking. They did so as Wolf stared at something they could not see.

"I think I see a cabin," Wolf said softly. He moved forward slower then they had been moving. There was no telling if the cabin was abandoned or if the inhabitants were sleeping. The look Alex could see on their faces clearly asked, _should we risk it? _

"Rothman said something about him having cabins or safe places all around the factory. I bet this is one," Alex said in a whisper.

Wolf paused and glanced at him before nodding. Eagle picked up a heavy stick for a weapon and they made their way toward the small building. It seemed empty, probably because Rothman probably had rooms for the workers and himself in the factory.

It was a small cabin with only two rooms or one big rooms. They climbed the two stairs on the outside and Wolf turned to them, "I'll break it down on three--"

Alex refrained from rolling his eyes at the drama of it all. Honestly, there was no reason to break the door down. _It might not even be locked, _Alex thought, reaching past Wolf.

The door opened under his hand swinging open with a nudge of his hand. Wolf blinked, "Or that will work, to," he said reluctantly. Snake snorted and entered after Wolf.

From the light of the moon shining through the windows, Alex could see the outline of a couch and a brightly-colored carpet on the floor. There was a doorway leading to at least one other room in the cabin.

From the sounds Alex heard, he guessed Snake was opening the cabinet.

"I got a candle," Snake said in his quiet voice.

"And I got a match," Fox said back.

Wolf uttered a curse. "Well hurry up and get them together, would you? I just stubbed my toe," he said impatiently.

Eagle snickered and after a couple of tries they lit the candle. The light made Alex lift a hand to protect his squinting eyes. "That's _much _better," Eagle said and Alex looked over to see him jump on the couch.

"Ow," Eagle moaned and reached behind to rub his rear. "That's not a soft couch," he muttered, turning red.

Wolf frowned at him. "Good. Don't get comfy, Eagle; we'll leave as soon as we know which way to go."

"It's probably better to stay here, anyway," Fox said. "If Alex mashed the button on Harley's collar, MI6 would have been warned. They would want us to stay somewhere until they can find us I think."

They moved off to the other room, which had a large bed that Eagle squealed at. Wolf winced and shook his head as Eagle landed sprawled on the bed.

"This bed _is _nice," Eagle said, closing his eyes and sounding smug.

Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Wolf sat in a chair beside the bed. "I guess we're going to stay here for a bit."

"I did press the button on Harley's collar. They s_hould _have tracked us," Alex said, biting his lip.

Snake and Fox exchanged a look. "Maybe they will find us, Cub," Snake said. "I just want to go to sleep," he added after a pause and a yawn.

Wolf seemed to hesitate before speaking, "I guess we can stay here for an hour…maybe."

"Nap time," Eagle said tiredly. Alex smiled at him and his antics. Trust Eagle to keep everyone lighthearted.

The room was just big enough to fit the bed and two armchairs. Eagle was on the bed and Fox told him to scoot over and lay on the opposite side. Snake took the other chair that Wolf was not using and put his feet on the bed.

All of them had a place to sleep except Alex. That was fine with him; he could easily sleep in the uncomfortable couch in the other room even if it was colder in there.

_But I don't plan on sleeping, _Alex though grimly as he pulled the door shut where his unit was sleeping. He could hear Eagle already snoring and it would not be long before the rest of them were asleep as well.

They were heavy sleepers, but Alex knew he would need to wait a little while before he set off to do what had to be done.

He sat on the floor beside the carpet. It was darker in this room because the others had the candle, which had been burning out when Alex left the room. About ten minutes later more snores were heard coming from the bedroom.

Knowing that the time had come, Alex flipped the corner of the carpet over. Alex hoped that he was right and that what he had glimpsed earlier was not just a trick of the eyes. He was right.

A metal door was there almost perfectly hidden under the carpet. Alex had seen a glimpse of silver when Fox had first lit the candle but had not investigated further. He had hoped that Rothman was telling the truth about having hideouts stocked with food. So far he had not seen any food and this was most likely one of Rothman's hideouts. So where was the food?

Alex had looked around without drawing attention to himself, but had not found anything. Even the cabinets were empty of food products. That left a hidden space somewhere and Alex was curious to see how Rothman had set his food supply up. Did he have weapons down there to protect himself with as well? They could use some protection. Who knew if Rothman or someone else would find them before they could find a way to get in contact with MI6. He had not bothered to tell the K Unit his suspicions. They were tired; he would let them sleep.

Alex rolled the carpet up so that the door was fully revealed. Looking around to make sure he was alone and that one of his unit had not woken up, Alex used to handle to open it. Alex frowned and stood as he realized how heavy the door was. It opened with little sound and he carefully swung it to the other side of the flood.

The inside reminded him of a sewer in the middle of a city. There were rungs that would help him climb down to get to the bottom. The problem was that he could not _see _the bottom. The ladder just descended into darkness. Alex looked around for something to drop into the hole. He wished now that he had brought the candle with him instead of leaving it in the other room.

Nothing small and hard was in sight, so Alex sighed and mentally prepared himself to go down.

Turning around carefully, he lowered himself into the tunnel and placed his feet on the ladder. Making sure he had a good hand hold, Alex started climbing down the ladder. It was not long before he was mostly surrounded by darkness.

If he looked up, he could see the tiniest bit of moonlight. Alex took a deep breath and kept climbing down, knowing that the end _had _to be near.

Each step down was careful because he did not know just how close he was to the bottom. When his foot found the bottom of the floor instead of a metal rung, it startled him for a second. Then he jumped of the ladder, elated to have finally found the bottom.

_Now, if only I could find a light… _Alex thought, looking around helplessly in the dark.

With a small sigh he spread out his hands and walked around carefully. His foot, hit something, making him gasp slightly. Biting his lip, Alex reached out with hands, feeling for the object he had hit.

He frowned when his fingers found the grainy feel of wood. After trailing his hands along the board, Alex found the shelves covered in jars, probably glass by the sound they made against his fingernails.

The room seemed to be lined with shelves, which Alex did not find that surprising. Who knew how long Rothman would have wanted to stay here. The man stored as much food as he though he would need.

Finally, after a few confusing and irritating minutes, Alex found a light switch. He was happy and confused when he lifted the switch and the lights came on. Why was there electricity down here but not upstairs?

The teen pushed that thought to the side. He had more important things to think about. Most important on his list was the door he'd not noticed until the lights were turned on.

It was a heavy wooden door, which matched the wooden shelves lined with jars, cans, and bottles of water. He hoped this time it was a good thing as he walked over to he door.

_Who knows what's behind the door though, _Alex thought.

"Well, it's not like there's a giant three headed dog or something," Alex muttered to himself with a snort. He was more exasperated with himself for not reaching for the handle yet.

Finally, Alex just sighed and reached for the handle, easing the door opened, surprised that it was not locked.

What he saw shocked him immensely. It was a lighted tunnel lined with pipes that went left and right. Of all the things he had expected, an underground tunnel system was not one of them.

It seemed Rothman was more prepared then Alex knew. The thought frightened him.

_I wonder where this leads,_ Alex wondered with crinkled eyebrows. Could it possibly lead back to the factory? _If I could get in there I might still be able to stop their crazy plan from succeeding. _

Krause was dead, and not coming back. Alex closed his eyes for a moment; he had managed to put the man's death in the back of his mind. Now the sound of a gunshot ringed in his head like he had just heard it. The man had died trying to stop Bianchi and Rothmans's plan, and it was a shame to let his death go to waste. And Alex really did not want to depend on MI6; too much was at risk to wait for them, and they weren't always reliable.

_Maybe I'll just follow the tunnel a while and see where it leads, _Alex thought decidedly. _I'll probably be back before Wolf and the others notice I'm gone. They can sleep through a volcanic eruption_,_ anyway. _The teen's thoughts were sarcastic, but a smile was on his face.

He put aside the more sensible part of his brain that told him Wolf would _kill him _if he knew what was going on. _But he won't know because I'm not going to tell him, _Alex thought with satisfaction

It was true the man would be mad and maybe, _maybe _worried that Alex had disappeared if he woke up. Alex did not think he would be gone too long, just travel up the tunnel a bit to see if there was anything worth while.

They would probably still be asleep by the time he got back.

He did not shut the storage room door as he set of down the hall. It might not open for him again, and then--he'd be trapped in here.

The lights being on in the tunnel made it seem as if it was used a lot. Would Alex come across anyone? He made his footsteps as soft as possible, but they still seemed to echo. If he ran into anyone as he turned a corner, there would be an advantage to him.

The other person would be surprised, as well, and Alex could hopefully knock them unconscious before they called out. There were no weapons he could use except his body. He hoped that would be enough.

The tunnel was long, Alex found out. He was getting bored at the everlasting pipes on the wall beside him and the bright, unfriendly lights.

It would have been more interesting to listen to the unit's snores. There was nothing interesting or helpful for him down here, and he decided to walk a little while longer and then turn back.

_By the time I get back_,_ they'll be awake. I didn't even get any sleep, _Alex grumbled to himself. "Just had to play Hardy Boys and go down the mysterious tunnel," Alex said snidely.

_You're not really tired until you start talking to yourself, _Alex thought to himself as he turned the corner. _Tired or bonkers, _Alex thought as he turned the corner he had come to.

Then his earlier pessimistic thoughts were wiped from his mind. Right in front on him, looking oh so innocent; was a door. It was a metal door, and Alex was sure it hid what he had been looking for: a way into the factory.

_If I survive this_,_ Wolf will kill me, _Alex thought.

Now he had a chance, though. A chance to finish what Krause had started and destroy their mad plan.

Not only was the door heavy, but it was also slightly stuck from being unused. The door finally opened with a massive pull from Alex. _I must be in a storage room or unimportant room, _Alex thought looking around warily.

The room had an abused look to it. The floor needed sweeping and it was lightly littered.

_Even though Rothman would put his secret tunnel where no one would think to look for it, _Alex thought as he looked around carefully.

There was no one around right now, but it was the middle of the night. Rothman and everyone else probably still thought Alex and his unit was in their holding room.

His shoes made too much noise on the hard floor and with a quiet snarl Alex took them off. It did not matter that his feet were already getting cold, as long as he was not found by a worker before he was ready.

He found the exit to the room and after checking quickly to make sure it was clear, he jumped out the door. Alex stopped running up the corridor and backtracked when he found a map of the building.

_These sure have come in handy, _Alex thought as a red dot on the map showed him where he was. Frowning as he realized he had to go half way across the factory, Alex set off again after putting his shoes back on.

He saw a few guards along the way, but Alex managed to stay out of their way or hide until they walked past. Or so he thought. Turning a corner, there were to many in Alex's opinion, he ran right into one of those guards. The man spluttered from surprise and reached for something on his belt.

Alex lashed out, giving a round house kick to the man's stomach.

As the guard wheezed Alex kicked him on the side of the head. That was all it took for the man's eyes to roll back in his head. Alex bit his lip as he caught the unconscious man. There was a supply closet just back around the corner. That would have to do.

A minute later the guard landed on a mop bucket as Alex more or less threw him in the closet. Alex grimaced as he shut the closet door quietly and went back to his job.

Several minutes later, Alex came to the room he was sure Krause had died in. The door had a paper sign that had not been there earlier. DO NOT ENTER was written on the paper in big letters.

Alex ignored it and opened the door carefully. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it was still unlocked. The middle of the room, where Krause and Rothman had faced off, was mostly bare. Krause's body had been removed, and all that was left was a mop bucket with pink water inside. And there was a plain, brown suitcase sitting near the mop bucket.

Alex frowned when he saw it. His curiosity got the better of him and he walked toward it cautiously.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

Rothman's voice had Alex spinning around and cursing himself for dropping his guard. The man stood in the dorway Alex had just entered a moment ago.

"Why not?" Alex asked not moving from his current position.

Rothman shrugged a gesture that did not go well with his stiff suit and cold expression.

"It might go off if you disturb it."

Alex's eyes widened. "…a bomb?" he asked. Rothman smiled lightly and ferally, and shook his head.

"Suitcase bombs would be rather hard for even Krause to come by. I'm not sure they even exist at the moment. I imagine it's an IED. They're rather fragile, so I have not studied it," Rothman said smugly, and Alex nodded slowly.

Improvised explosive devices are typically very unstable and subject to spontaneous, unintentional detonation triggered by a wide range of environmental effects, Alex remembered.

They were quiet for a moment. Rothman did not have any guns on him, it seemed. Just a cell phone in his hand that he held lightly, as if it would break.

"You might want to throw your cell phone somewhere," Alex growled slowly. "It could cause it to go off as well."

Rothman's other empty hand came to cradle the phone rather protectively.

Alex frowned and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"How did you get out?" Rothman asked, ignoring Alex's other comment. Alex wondered if he was waiting for a guard to find them and call reinforcements.

Alex shrugged in response and started walking toward Rothman in a wide circle. "I always manage to get out of tight situations. Don't ask me how, 'cos I don't know. I would guess that someone in heaven likes me."

Rothman frowned, but do not moved as he watched Alex. "Hmm. Your luck must run out sometime, Rider. Maybe today's that day."

Alex smiled; he was closer to Rothman now. "I don't think so."

Rothman must have been expecting the punch ,as he dodged it, but he did not expect that it was a diversion. Alex's foot hit Rothman's hand and the cell phone flew into the air as the man regained his ballence.

Alex stumbled back a step and caught the phone. He looked up to see Rothman with wide eyes and an expression of horror on his handsome face.

Alex barily resisted taunting the man. 'Look what I've got!' was on the tip of his toungue.

Instead, Alex flipped back the cell phone to find it was a detonator. With raised eyebrows Alex understood why the cell was so important.

With one tap on the flat, red button, the IED would blow up.

Slowly, a wide, smug smile came to Alex's face. Rothman scowled through his fear. "It's only one, Rider. While it may destroy a small portion of this plant--"

"So there are more than one…" Alex half asked, trailing off.

It was only a guess. For just one bomb to scare Rothman, it was just not believable.

Alex figured that there was more then one IED placed around the building and the detonator in Alex's hand activated all of them. He also figured that Rothman knew this and was trying to make him doubt. Rothman turned the color of paper and Alex knew he was right. It would not work. Alex was the one who made the _bad guys _doubt, not the other way around.

"You press that button and you'll die along with the rest of us, Rider," Rothman said.

Alex smirked. "Not if I'm out of the building," he said lightly. But at that moment, the guards burst through the doors at that moment. There was no time to do anything.

"Unarm him!" Rothman screamed, as he suddenly found his balls, now that his guards were here.

Someone shot a gun and Alex felt a searing pain shoot across his hand. With a startled yell Alex dropped the cell and pulled his injured hand towards his chest.

"Don't damage that cell, you idiots!" Rothman screamed, both furious and afraid for his life. A guard grabbed the cell as Alex backed away, trying not to draw attention to himself. Rothman's number one priority was the detonator, and keeping the area around the briefcase untouched.

Not everyone was as preoccupied as Rothman, though. Huge arms wrapped themselves around Alex's waist in a bear hug that had him trapped. He tried to kick backwards and possibly hit the man in the groin.

With a growl, Alex decided it was useless and hung limp in the guard's arms as the man snickered at his struggles. Rothman seemed to have finally decided that his precious detonator was safe and he turned to Alex.

With a short gesture of his hand, Rothman had the guard releasing one of Alex's arms that were pinned to his sides. Rothman took Alex's hurt hand which was curled into a fist.

"Now, you'll just hurt yourself if you clench it like that," Rothman said as he looked at the wound on Alex's hand. Alex stared at him. The wound was a deep cut that bled into Rothman's hands right before he dropped it.

"Put him somewhere. I don't care where, just make sure he can't escape."

With that Rothman told everyone to get out of the room and stay away. Alex was dragged out and his bleeding hand wrenched behind him painfully. They took him down some stairs and finally deposited him in the basement. It had no windows, and the walls were cold. The entire room smelled like rust and mildew.

_And I'm stuck here, _Alex thought as he looked around. There was nothing but complete darkness. He hated it.

_I should have told them_ then…_we would have had a better chance, _Alex thought. He wonderered what the K Unit was doing now. Still sleeping, or the more likely one--looking around for him.

With a heavy sigh, Alex sat on the floor and put his head on his knees.

There was nothing he could do but wait. For Rothman or M16.

**A/N: **I can hear you all now, 'Groan, not _again!_' lol. I did not expect it to happen honestly, my fingers have a mind of their own. Will you stick with me guys? Time to thank you magnificent reviewers!

**Nyxelestia, BrazilianPrincess, Rose-Aislin, **Kinda suck is a big understatement, lol. Glad you liked it! **SheWeapon1, **So glad I surprised you. Thank you for reviewing! **CMT1992, **That would be great wouldn't it! Thank you for the idea, I like it a lot. **Jusmine, digiMist, keatlin, Rasgara, Bookflower, alex-rider-girl, MoonDrake, Gold is power, OddlySane, Mizu1411, RiGhTeO, BellaBooTwilight, **(Grin) I love it when I can still surprise you. I keep thinking that the reviewers will get bored soon, lol. **fattoad, SilentKiller1, **No problem, I've never heard of that anime but it sounds interesting. **PsychoWing, **So true. Not that I would know personally, lol. Glad you're still enjoying it! **Lady Shadow Of Time, **It was sad, I'll have to give him a right proper funeral. Thanks for reading and reviewing! **Ancient and Forever, **Glad I surprised you! **ninjawoman, **(Smiles gleefully) Thank you for that compliment, I hope this meets the other chapters standards. **Leena, **I'll be explaining what you brought up in a future chapter. It's too long to go into here, sorry. I appreciate your review and for asking that question! **Ponyboy65, **You gasped? Lol, cool. Thank you for reviewing. **oirishgoddess, **Rat's, my plan if foiled! Sorry about killing Krause, it had to be done. A Cabin With Cats, nice title eh? Lol, we'll see. You'll have to talk to Wolf about the cats though, I see him as a dog person. (I'm a cat person but don't tell him). I don't know about my storylines being better then your's, I am still making mine as I go along, lol. Not very professional. Thank you for reviewing! **hylian-dragoness, **Skinny cats make it hard to breath as well if they lay down on the right spots. My cat likes pretending to be a scarf. I don't think I've ever seen that many awesome's in one paragraph, lol,. Thank you. **Wolfmonster, **Yeah, he's dead. No coming back to life for him, sorry. **Kaisaan, **I'm glad you found some free time. Yes, Krause was brave. Thanks for reviewing! **riderbabe101, **I might just hang your review on my wall, lol. Thank you for reviewing. **highonDr.Pepper, **Thank you. **MarauderetteLily, **Thank you for all your reviews! **Crystal Roads, **Awkward is fun sometimes. Thank you for reviewing. **Mystery Gal, Arica, Princess of Rivendale. **


	15. Chapter 15

Alex had sat on the floor for more than an hour before exhaustion made him lie on his side. Tired eyes shut, Alex sighed. He would stay like this just for a few minutes.

The cold was already sinking into the skin of his arm, which was pressed against the cement floor. Within a minute his arm was numb but Alex was asleep by then and did not move.

He was asleep when the door opened.

Some part of his conscious heard the footsteps that came up to him but ignored it. A warm, kind hand touched Alex's freezing shoulder. It shook him gently, then more firmly as Alex woke slowly.

"Get up, kid," a familiar voice said quietly.

With a sigh through his nose, Alex peered up at the man kneeling next to him. Recognition lit in Alex's eyes, and he sat up quickly, almost knocking heads with his rescuer.

"Eagle!" He said excitedly as Eagle pulled him to his feet.

"Yep, just little old me. We got to get you out of here, you're freezing," Eagle said as he pulled Alex to the door.

Things were happening too fast. One second he was in a uncomfortable unconscious, the next he was being rescued. Alex went along with Eagle.

"Ho--how did you get here? Where are the others? Are you sure you weren't followed?"

Eagle laughed softly. "Slow down, Cub. You have a lot of explaining to do, so hold your breath until later."

Alex winced. "I guess Wolf is really mad right now…"

Eagle snorted. "He's not the only one." The man gave him a frustrated glance. "You should have came to us. We're a team for a reason, Cub."

Biting his lip, Alex resisted the urge to look down guiltily. They were still walking through the basement. "I didn't expect to end up here. How was I supposed to know where the tunnel led?"

Eagle turned on him and the look in his eyes made Alex step back. "I _don't care_ if you did not know, you _still _shouldn't have gone anywhere without us!"

Alex blinked. "Eagle--"

Holding up a hand, Eagle stopped him from speaking any further. "I don't want to hear it. Let's get out of here first and then we can talk about this." Not waiting for a response, Eagle started walking again. They were out of the basement quickly, and walking through the halls as silently as possibly.

Seeing the unfamiliar look of frustration on Eagle's face made Alex wince. He hated to admit it, but their anger was justified.

Not only had he put himself in danger, but he had put his unit jeopardy as well.

Alex was suddenly pulled sideways into a closet. "What are--?" he tried to ask Eagle, who covered his mouth halfway through the question.

Pounding feet ran down the hall where they had been. Alex sucked in a surprised breath. The guards had been so close and he had not even noticed. Eagle removed his hand and pushed Alex out of the closet.

"They know you've escaped so we'll have to find the others quick," Eagle said in a breathless voice.

They made straight for the exit. Seeing Wolf and Fox coming their way made Alex feel some tension disappear. They were panting slightly as they caught up with Eagle and Alex.

"I got it," Fox said with a grin. His hand patted his pocket lightly.

Frowning, Alex looked at them as they pulled him down the corridor. "Got what?" he asked in confusion.

Something was off. What had he missed while in the basement?

Seeing his expression and kindly taking pity in him, Eagle spoke. "We overheard your little talk with Rothman. Got his cell phone while he slept. Did you know he decided to sleep with that thing under his pillow?"

Alex gaped at them. "You have it?" Wolf clapped his hand over Alex's mouth.

"Shut up," he snapped, but a grin took away some of the bite. "Yeah, we got it, and beat Rothman up in the process. He had four guards just for himself. Fox took care of three, and it was bloody awesome!"

Eagle chuckled. "Wolf man's hyper."

Wolf didn't object--and then his expression changed as he took in Alex's face.

"_You _have a lot of explaining to do," he growled. Alex stood his ground.

Fox took care of three, and it was bloody awesome!"

Alex said, trying and failing not to look too guilty.

Wolf looked at him disapprovingly. Even Fox did not look to happy.

"Where's Snake?" Alex asked suddenly, remembering finally; to ask about the man.

Eagle smiled, "He went off alone to lock the guards in the tunnel--"

"What?" Alex asked in awe. Fox nodded, "We'll explain later. We're near the exit. Let's go."

The exit was apparently just an exit from the room they were in, because the door they went through just opened into another room. At the scene before them, Alex stopped short.

It seemed they had found Snake. Too bad he was too busy fighting to say hello. Alex's brain finally caught up with the rest of him, and he jumped in to help. Wolf and Eagle were already helping Snake fight the seven guards randomly positioned around the room.

The guards were inexperienced at fighting. Alex knocked two out easily. It seemed Rothman had gone more from size than anything else when he picked out guards. It was almost laughable, and Alex was having fun.

_I'm having fun beating some people unconscious, _what _would Jack say? _Alex though in amusement as he finished the last man. _Actually, she'd probably join in if she knew the situation, _Alex chuckled.

There was a garage-like door that the K Unit was know trying to open. "As soon as we get out of here, we can set off that bomb--" Wolf said.

Behind them came the sound of heavy breathing. Spinning around, Alex saw a bloodied and limping Rothman in the door.

There was silence as time seemed to stand still. Beyond the buzzing in his ears, Alex heard the huge, garage like door that was opening.

Then Rothman lifted his hand, and fired the gun he held.

Eagle went down with a grunt. Then Rothman fired again--but his hand was knocked off track as Wolf pushed him to the ground.

"Alex!" His yell gave Alex enough warning, and he caught the cell phone thrown at him. The detonator was in his grasp, finally.

"Get out of here, they'll send out--ugh--those trucks soon!" Wolf screamed as he rolled with Rothman.

Fox jumped to help while Snake dragged Eagle out the garage door, safety.

"Run, Alex, then set it off!" Fox said as he got up from where he had fallen.

Not waiting another second, Alex ran. Out side, noises of guards, probably just finding their way back, and other noises--_helicopters, _Alex realized.

But, were they for him or against him?

There was no time to find out; people were running after him as his feet pounded on the concrete.

The sun was coming up. The plant had to be destroyed.

All the food, and water, was poisoned. It needed to be destroyed anyway. When the place was destroyed, people would become aware of the danger they were in or had been in.

The people needed to know.

Alex wondered if was far enough away. What if Wolf and the others were not safe? He could not run much farther, though, even now exhaustion was slowing him down.

He opened the detonator. With a deep breath, he mashed the button.

A second later, the bombs went off. Apparently, there had been _a lot more _than two bombs in the building. Alex was thrown off his feet as the concrete around him cracked and shook.

Gasping, the concrete rushed up to meet Alex's face, and the rest of his body. The force rattled his bones; the sound of the explosion made his ears ring.

Rolling over, stars in his eyes, he saw the building that would haunt his nightmares burning. New flames were swirling like tendrils of a plant. They quickly encompassed the building.

The people following him had been forgotten. But, as Alex saw one out of the corner of his mind, it was the only thing he was worried about. He was not fast enough, something slammed into his head.

Alex dropped to the ground. The force behind the object hitting him knocked him unconscious.

………………………………...

Careful hands lifted his aching head. Alex wanted to tell them off for touching his head. Everything hurt. What in the world was happening?

Dizzily, Alex attempted to sit up. Quickly, and firmly, he was pushed back down on what he thought was the ground.

Someone was talking. What were they saying? Slowly, the voices got louder, and more intelligible.

"…so stop moving before you hurt yourself worse. Hey! We need some water here, some medical attention, something?"

Alex knew the person speaking. The presence felt familiar. He was tempted to go back to the darkness he had just come out of. Alex tried relaxing; whatever was going on could wait. He had a dream of a golden dog that he would happily return to.

"No you don't!" someone said with amusement. Something cold was splashed on Alex face. It woke him up quickly.

His arms and legs flailed as Alex tried to sit up. A strong hand held him down, and someone laughed. Alex opened his eyes, they were bleary, and he shook the water out, regretting the action when his head flared with pain.

Blinking, Alex looked up and saw a half-smiling face. "Fox…." he mumbled in reconigtion.

The hand was removed. "I want you to sit back for a while, don't sleep; I think you might have a concussion," Fox said gently.

It was then that Alex really noticed his surroundings. Lights flashed, at least four helicopters were hovering, and turning his head Alex saw Rothman's factory.

Or, at least what was left of it. Which actually wasn't much.

The brick was stained charcoal, the burning smell hung in the air. Someone chuckled at his slightly shocked expression.

"When you do something, you go all the way," Wolf said from near him. Alex searched for him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Er…you blew up a building," said Fox. Alex frowned and sat up; he ignored Fox complaining that he needed to wait for a paramedic. Cops, ambulances, and almost every emergency vehicle Alex had ever seen was around him.

Alex stood to take a better look and they let him.

Had anybody told MI6 anything yet? Then he saw them. There were bodies, maybe four lying on the ground.

Alex gulped. "What's wrong with--they aren't--" He couldn't finish the sentence, and he stumbled making his way to one of the still guards. Wolf caught his arm.

"Three are dead. One's just unconscious; the paramedics are trying to help him. It was not to long ago that they arrived," Wolf said quietly finally turning Alex away from the sight of the bodies, and the building.

"We need to get him some medical attention, Wolf. He looks like he's in shock," Fox said, worry tinting his voice.

"When'd you become Snake?" Wolf asked, but he to be looking at Alex.

"I'm fine, just…I don't know,"Alex looked around looking lost. "I need to talk to Jones and Blunt."

Raising an eyebrow, Fox started dragging him toward the ambulances. "He wants to talk to them? Now we _know_ he injured."

Wolf nodded. "Hit in the head harder then what we thought."

………………………………...

The paramedics checked him over quickly, before announcing he was not in serious condition and moving to some other people. Wolf didn't like it; Alex could tell be the way he snarled at the EMT.

A man in army uniform came to him. "Are you Alex Rider?"

Surprised, Alex tried to keep his voice calm. "Yes, that's me," he replied.

"Good, I need you and your unit to come with me," the man replied. Eagle had injured his leg, but would be fine. He was helped into a helicopter several minutes later.

"You okay Eagle?" Alex asked. The paramedics had given Eagle some pain relievers, but Alex did not think the pills were working very well. He had seen the man flinch, and he was unusually quiet and tight lipped.

Eagle nodded, and even attempted a smile. "I'm fine, Cub. Even better now that we got this fancy trasportation out of that hell hole. Who knew you were so famous?"

His teasing made Alex laugh. They arrived at their destination fairly quickly. Alex was ushered out of the helicopter and into a building.

"Alex!" The teen lifted his head which had been straying around the room. For the second time in his life, he saw Mrs. Jones with worried expression.

It looked motherly almost, and reminded Alex of the time he was shot. Mrs. Jones had looked a bit worried then. Now she came to him looking him over for any sign of harm as she came. Her usual black suit was replaced by a more worn down pant suit that did not match.

She had obviously dressed quickly. Her hands descended on Alex's shoulders. She peered at him paying no attention to the others.

"What are we, next door neighbors?" Fox asked in the background. He was apparently filling in the job of comedian for Eagle.

It didn't matter, Jones ignored him. "We got the warning; by the time we got to your safe house it was too late. I'm sorry, Alex, we were trying to track you. In the end it was the news of the exploding factory that helped us find you."

Alex frowned in question, and shifted uncomfortable. Sensing his discomfort, Mrs. Jones removed her hands.

"I need to explain better. Mr. Blunt could not be here. He's still dealing with the aftermath of the destruction you caused--" she said, but Alex winced.

"_Sorry, _I didn't think I had much of a choice with no one to help--" Alex rolled his eyes as Wolf said, "Hey!" indigently.

"--except for the brilliant work of my unit that I appreciate more then I can say. Happy?" Alex asked an amused and smug Wolf.

"Very," Wolf replied. Eagle was grinning with Fox, and Snake smirked.

Mrs. Jones was looking slightly exasperated, and Alex noticed that she was not sucking on a peppermint. _Will wonders never cease, _Alex thought dryly.

"Come into the office, I know you must want to rest so I'll explain as quickly as I can. And I want some answers as well," she added as an afterthought.

They were ushered in an office, Snake hanging back just in case Eagle needed help with his crutch he had been given. "Can I get you anything to drink?" Mrs. Jones asked.

All of them accepted a drink except Eagle, who had had water given to him by the paramedics. Alex reminded himself to get the water. It would help his dry throat more than M16's sugary, cheap cola.

"I'll start at the beginning," Mrs. Jones said with a sigh. "Samuel Dixon," Mrs. Jones paused, "You may have come across him in the factory?"

Eagle and Fix winced while Alex closed his eyes. "Rothman shot him," he said before opening his eyes.

Mrs. Jones was watching him. "That's terrible," she murmered seeming saddened.

"We had him following Sarana Bianchi. She had caused some trouble in the past and some recent events seemed to have her fingerprints all over them. We had him go under the name Krause, and act interested in Bianchi," Stopping, Mrs. Jones took a drink before continuing.

"We heard rumors of her being a very vain woman, apparently we were right. Bianchi accepted Krause much sooner then we were expecting. Then, suddenly, we stopped getting messeges from him. His reports stopped coming and Bianchi was gone as well."

Alex frowned at this. "What had happened?"

"They had entered a region where contacting us would be rather difficult. And after that we think he disposed of his means of contacting us. His situation was very fragile. We just wished we had found him sooner," a little sigh and then Mrs. Jones was looking at them.

"I have not heard your side of the story yet," she said to the K Unit.

They exchanged glances, and then Wolf sighed. "Fine, I'll do it," he grumbled.

Eagle clapped. "Story time with Wolfy!" Wolf frowned, and picked up his glass making a gesture that said he would gladly dump the wateer over Eagle's head.

"I guess you know about how we were taken. They busted through the front and back door, caught us off guard and shoved us in some black vans," Wolf said with a frown as he remembered.

"About how many people were there?" Mrs. Jones asked. Outside a bird sang, drawing Alex's attention to the bright weather outside. He wished he could go out, get away from the cold air inside the building.

Wolf looked uncertain for a moment. "Twenty to thirty," he said with a shrug. Mrs. Jones frowned, but nodded for him to continue.

Alex realized that Wolf had refrained from mentioning Harley's death. Not that Mrs. Jones would care that much, but he wondered momentarily why Wolf had not mentioned it.

"We were loaded into separate vehicles. They probably though we would cause trouble together. Alex did manage to hurt one," Wolf grinned at Alex who returned it.

"It felt good, too," he said with a chuckled. Eagle laughed out loud, and Mrs. Jones looked slightly unnerved.

"Continue please," she said to Wolf.

"We were brought to the factory where, after being shoved into a holding room, Alex caused some trouble, and was then brought to Rothman," Wolf said.

Mrs. Jones turned toward Alex expectantly. Knowing he was trapped, Alex started talking.

"Well, Wolf missed out on some spots. They tied us up back to back in a circle. I had kept my hands clenched and tight so when I relaxed them I had some moving room. We got untied, even though someone proclaimed it impossible," Alex said with a grin.

Eagle nudged Wolf. "He's talking about you" he said unnecessarily. There was a huge smile on his face.

"No really?" Wolf grouched. Mrs. Jones was watching their antics, Alex saw, and he continued his story.

"We got out, and then got found. I got beat up until Rothman interrupted, much to my shock and horror," Alex said.

"How did you escape?" Mrs. Jones asked. Alex sat back in his seat; he tried not to draw attention. He _really _didn't want to talk anymore about this subject.

What he _did _want was to see Jack. _She will be coming back, won't she? _Alex wondered.

If Jack would not be around to take care of him, what would happen? _Not that I need a guardian, if I had to I'm sure I could take care of myself, _Alex thought.

But, he had to admit, it was nice to have someone around who cared about him.

A bird, perhaps the one he had heard earlier, landed outside on the window sill. He watched it as it wiggled its wings then flew off.

He was still staring out the window when Snake punched him lightly. "Earth to Alex," he said with a grin.

"Sorry," Alex said. " What is it?" he continued as he saw them looking expectant.

"Mrs. Jones asked if you're ready to go home, or if you think you need to get checked out at the hospital?" Fox said helpfully.

Alex's eyes widened. "Home!" he blurted out excitedly.

In his head he was wondering, _what home? _His had burned down. But, the K Unit was smiling, and he figured he would find out soon enough.

They left the building happier than when they had entered. There was a large car waiting outside for them. Mrs. Jones had followed them, now she spoke.

"Henry will drive Alex home first, and then he'll drop of the rest of you. I hope that will be okay?" she asked.

They nodded immediately. She smiled lightly. "Goodbye then," then she turned back to the building.

They climbed in to the car. Alex held Eagle's crutch while the man got in the backseat. After handing it back, he got in the front beside Snake.

Henry grinned at him before starting the car. Alex smiled back. "Long time no see kiddo," the old man said gaily.

Alex scowled at being called a kid, but did not want to argue now. "Nice to see you, too, Henry."

They drove for a while. The exhaustion finally caught up with Alex; he fell asleep with his head drooping onto Snake's shoulder.

He woke later just as Henry was getting closer to their stop. He knew he had to be near their destination. He knew where he was.

Just down the street they had passed was his school. And over there was where the crazy cat lady lived. The park he had visited so many times with Tom was just there.

He did not realizing he was smiling until Eagle mentioned it. "You're going to crack your face."

Alex rolled his eyes, but was too busy looking for his street to respond. He saw his street and could not help himself from jumping in the seat.

"You gotta pee?" Wolf asked amused. Alex did not bother responding.

Then--Henry passed Alex's street. Alex gaped for a moment. "What are you doing? Turn around, you missed my street," he said impatiently.

"I know where I'm going," Henry replied watching the street.

They turned down the next street; Alex figured Henry was going to turn around. This road only led beside the river as past a small valley.

But, the man kept driving. "You could turn around the--" Henry passed the grassless spot Alex had pointed at. Alex crossed his arms figuring he would just have to wait.

As they turned a curve, and then slowed Alex frowned. They were coming up on a house that he had seen once, maybe twice. It had been in need of redecorating. Now it looked perfect…and exactly like his old house.

He was ready to start bouncing in his seat again when they turned up the driveway.

"Oh wow," he murmered in awe, staring at what he knew was his new home.

As they got to a bend in the driveway, it allowed Alex to see the side of the house. He realized that this house was larger in the back than his old one.

They stopped in front of it and Alex almost ran over Snake in his haste. A mock frightened look came over the man's face, and he hurried to get out of the way.

Alex ran up to the door. He paused, and then reached for the handle hoping it was unlocked. What would be waiting for him inside?

It was unlocked. With a huge smile, he pushed the door open and entered the hallway. He breathed deep; it even smelled like the washing powders Jack used as she did the clothes.

The doorway to kitchen was right there, Alex went into the room eagerly. The appliances were different, but the way it was made was the same.

It was almost like he had never left.

"Jack?" he called. Alex did not know wheither to expect Jack or not. Sounds of somebody coming his way from the other room had Alex turning excitedly.

He barely noticed the K Unit standing in the doorway as he opened the door to the living room.

There was indeed someone else in the house--but it was not who he expected.

"Harley!" he gasped. His retriver barked excitedly and entered the kitchen to attack Alex with his toungue.

Unlike the first time, Alex welcomed the doggy kisses as Harley jumped up and down.

"I thought you were dead!" Alex exclaimed softly as he kneeled and ran his hands of the soft fur. The smell of shampoo tickled Alex's nose. His dog had been well cared for.

As Harley tured to welcome the K Unit, Alex saw a slight limp and frowned. _It could be worse_, _though, _he reminded himself. It was true. Harley could have been dead.

"Alex?" an astonished but familier voice had Alex looking up. The person he had been waiting to see was standing there looking surprised, but delighted.

He stood and was hugging Jack in less than a second. "Jack, you have _no idea _how much I missed you!" he breathed.

She laughed happily. "If it was anything like the way I felt…." she trailed of. Alex pulled back, she was staring at the K Unit.

They looked uncomfortable. Wolf was shifting from foot to foot. Fox was petting Harley, who was still jumping, but he kept looking between Alex and Jack.

Snake cleared his throat when no one spoke. Eagle came forward on his crutch and held out his hand. "I'm Eagle," he said with a grin.

Jack took his hand. "Is that your last name or did your parents hate you?" she asked warily. Eagle grinned wider. "Neither, but If I told you my real name I'd have to kill you."

"You wouldn't be the first to try," Jack replied with a dry glance at Alex. "That's what happens when you live with a miniature James Bond."

Alex grumbled. "Miniature? I'm almost taller than you."

Wolf was grinning slightly now. Harley had grabbed Snake's shirt and was pulling him to Jack.

"I know what you mean," Eagle said ignoring Harley trying to push him away from Jack.

"We had only known Alex a little and just for that we got hunted down by some--" Harley cut off his sentece as he pushed Eagle with his side.

"Looks like your dog's playing matchmaker," Wolf muttered in Alex's ear as he stepped away from the doorway.

Alex snickered and watched as Fox subtly pulled Harley away. Snake looked embarrassed and amused as he stepped away from the two. Jack was listening to Eagle now and smiling at what he was saying.

Alex noticed she kept glancing around for him every few minutes. Any other time it might have annoyed him. Now he soaked it up.

It was about ten minutes later that they left. Alex winced. It sounded like Henry had died and way lying on the horn.

"I guess I got to go," Eagle muttered, sounding sad. Jack looked amused.

Alex saw them exchange numbers out of the corner of his eye while he said his goodbyes.

"Ever need any help, got someone trying to kill you or something, you can call me," Wolf said.

Alex chuckled. "Thanks, I hope I won't need to, though." From the fridge, Jack was nodding as she took out stuff for lunch.

Fox nodded. "Me too, I don't think I can keep up with you, Cub. I'd pass out, and then you'd have to drag me everywhere."

"Or lean you up against a tree and come back for you later," Eagle said joining them.

Snake snickered as he patted Harley. "Bye Snake," Alex said as they headed for the door.

"See ya Alex. If I need some spy work I'll know who to come to," he said with a wave.

"You can't afford my spy work,"Alex said studying his nails with exaggerated vanity.

Wolf laughed and clapped him on the back. Alex watched as they drove out of the driveway.

Harley was rubbing head against Alex's hand.

Alex shut the door and turned to go back into the kitchen. It was good to be home.

The end

**A/N: **My baby's all grown up and posted! Yes, no joke. It's complete. This is my first complete, chaptered story. I hope there will be many more after this. Thanks for sticking with me, sorry it took a while longer for this update. Thank you reviewers for the much loved constructive criticism, helpful comments, and encouragement, and the not-so-subtle-but-amusing death threats if I did not update soon, (grin). Time to thank the reviewers.

**CMT1992, **Thank you, you got two out of four correct, that's not too bad. **sheluby94dreamer, **Cat's theme? I don't know, thank you for reviewing. **keatlin, **Yes, that would have been better, it all worked out okay in the end though. **Crystal Roads, **Thank you. I wouldn't dare kill Alex, at least not in this fic. **alex-rider-girl, Ancient and Forever, **I know what you mean, he doesn't always have to save himself. It's like come on Anthony, let some one else save Alex! Lol, thank you for reviewing. **Mizu1411, **After you said that, I wondered what color Alex would be as a cat, lol. Thank you. **Wolfmonster, **Lol, can't have an AR story without saving the world at least once. Thanks! **Gold is power, Rose-Aislin, **Can't have him _not _getting in trouble now can we? Thank you for reviewing. **irish-hailsy, **(Gasp) Bad! I'll send Harley after you now that's he's back, hehe. Thank you for the congrats, never thought I'd even get over a hundred. (faints) Thanks for pointing out those typo's, I'll be sure to fix them. **SheWeapon1, **A gift, skill, or a curse, I'm leaning towards curse. Glad you liked! **SilentKiller1, **You baka? Isn't that a thing in Star Wars? Lol, sorry, don't know what you mean but I'm glad you are still reading. **Aquanova, **(Smirk) I can't help myself. Thank you for reviewing! **PsychoWing,** Thanks! **LocaCocoCoco, **(Bursts into tears) I'm sorry, (sniffle) does the happy ending get me forgiven? (puppy eyes). **Rasgara, **Of course, not getting into trouble would not be like Alex, lol. Thank you! **hylian-dragoness, **(Grin) The K Unit did have to save him, good guess. Skinny cats attack your toes when you _almost _asleep, don't know what fat cats do, glare maybe? **Lady Shadow Of Time, **Thank you. **Mrs.JonesPeppermintProvider, **Your name made me laugh out loud, it's so original and I think it's funny as well. Thank you! **puretsubasa, BrazillianPrincess, Enda, **Thank you, glad you liked it. **Mallorie, **Thank you! **BellaBooTwilight, **Take a deep breath, let it out slowly, now count to ten…in mermish…backwards. Better? (Grin) Thanks for reviewing! **Arica, Princess of Rivendale, **Nope, he lives! Thanks for reviewing! **Drayconette, **Thank you for reviewing. I imagine Alex was a bit tired, who wouldn't be? **oirishgoddess, **Ahh! Doctor! How many times can he get caught? Someone could write a AR groundhog day fic, where Alex repeats the day over and over again. I'm happy your enjoying it! **Kaisaan, **He always did seem curious to me, he would not even be a spy if he had not been curious. Thank you for reviewing! **RiGhTeO, **Thank you, I'm glad you stated interested! **whatever95, Kitty Kash, **(Evil laugh) Lol, thanks for reviewing! **Za Webwaster Authoress, **Thank you! I was trying to keep it in line with the book as much as I could. It's nice to know that you liked it. **Jusmine, **Ouch, sandpaper for eyes. Hope you get some rest soon! Thanks for reviewing! **Fan o' Fanfic, **Thanks! **Jade Taylor, DarkAngel667, **Thanks for the exciting reviews! **camnstarr4eva, **I'm glad your warming to it. Yeah, the K Unit was rather mean in the series. Never thought of them being that interesting until I met fan fiction. Thanks for reviewing! **Anne Phoenix, **Thanks, glad your enjoying.


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